总书记 (zǒng shū ji) — General Secretary (of the Communist Party of China)

Definition

The top leadership title 'General Secretary' of the Chinese Communist Party — the Party's highest-ranking position. Distinct from 书记 (a more general 'secretary') and 秘书长 (Secretary-General of an international organization).

noun
General Secretary (of the Communist Party of China)

Examples

  • 总书记。
    Xí jìn píng tóng zhì shì zhōng guó gòng chǎn dǎng de zǒng shū ji.
    Comrade Xi Jinping is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.
  • 总书记。
    Jīn nián zǒng shū ji fā biǎo le zhòng yào jiǎng huà.
    This year, the General Secretary delivered an important speech.
  • 总书记。
    Quán guó dài biǎo dà huì xuǎn jǔ le xīn de zǒng shū ji.
    The National Congress elected a new General Secretary.

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.

总zǒnggeneral
书记secretary
书shūdocuments记jìrecord
联合Side by side

总 means general or chief, while 书 and 记 both relate to records, together giving a general secretary.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 總; 总 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
悤
悤cōng總zǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 總 has 糸, a rope, and 悤 as a sound part; the rope part is for binding together. This account is for 總, not for 总.

Open 总 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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