总工程师 (zǒng gōng chéng shī) — chief engineer

Definition

noun
chief engineer
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 总工程师。
    Tā shì gōng sī de zǒng gōng chéng shī.
    He is the company's chief engineer.
  • 总工程师。
    zǒng gōng chéng shī Fù zé zhè ge xiàng mù de jì shù fāng àn.
    The chief engineer is responsible for the technical plan of this project.
  • 总工程师。
    zǒng gōng chéng shī Zài jiǎn chá shè bèi de wèn tí.
    The chief engineer is checking the equipment problem.

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zǒngchief
工程师engineer
工gōngwork程chéngprocess师shīmaster
偏正Modifier + head

总 means chief, and 工程师 means engineer; together they form the chief engineer.

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 →

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Open 工 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾hégrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
呈
呈chéng程chéng
Same sound today

程 is made from 禾 (grain) and 呈 (pronounced chéng); the evidence gives measurements.

Open 程 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 師; 师 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤
  • 帀帀zā

The traditional form 師 combines 𠂤 and 帀; the simplified 师 is not the form explained here.

Open 师 →

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