掌管 (zhǎng guǎn) — to be in charge of; to control; to administer | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

掌管 means 'to be in charge of' a department, region, or domain, with authority over its operation — stronger and more formal than 管 or 负责, and broader in scope than 主管 (which can be a noun for the person in charge).

verb

to be in charge ofto controlto administer

Examples

掌管。
Tā zhǎng guǎn zhe zhěng gè xiàng mù de jìn dù.
He oversees the progress of the entire project.
掌管。
Cái wù bù yóu tā zhǎng guǎn.
The finance department is under her charge.
掌管？
Shuí zhǎng guǎn zhè ge dì qū de zhì ān?
Who is in charge of public security in this area?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

Both 掌 and 管 carry the idea of holding or managing, so together they mean to be in charge.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng掌zhǎng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

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

竹官管

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

官

官guān管guǎn

Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Management

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