官长 (guān cháng) — (senior) officer; senior official in charge

Definition

A formal/archaic term for a senior officer or official in charge, commonly used in military or historical-imperial contexts (e.g., appointed by the 朝廷).

noun
(senior) officersenior official in charge
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 官长。
    Zhè wèi guān cháng zài jūn zhōng hěn yǒu wēi wàng.
    This senior officer has great prestige in the military.
  • 官长。
    Yǐ qián de guān cháng dà duō yóu cháo tíng rèn mìng.
    In the past, senior officials were mostly appointed by the imperial court.
  • 官长。
    Shì bīng men bì xū fú cóng guān cháng de mìng lìng.
    Soldiers must obey the orders of their senior officers.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

官guānofficial
长chángchief

官 means official and 长 means chief, naming an official in charge.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.