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接班人 (jiē bān rén) — successor

Definition

接班人 is a 'successor' in a role or position (e.g. a company, organization, or political leader). Unlike 传人, it refers to taking over a post, not inheriting a skill or craft.

noun
successor
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 接班人。
    Dǒng shì zhǎng yǐ jīng xuǎn dìng le jiē bān rén.
    The chairman has already chosen the successor.
  • 接班人。
    Zhè wèi jiē bān rén hěn yǒu lǐng dǎo néng lì.
    This successor has strong leadership skills.
  • 接班人。
    Qǐ yè xū yào tí qián péi yǎng jiē bān rén.
    Enterprises need to cultivate successors in advance.

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.

接班take over the shift
接jiētake over班bānshift
动宾Verb + object
人rénperson

接班 means to take over the shift, and 人 means person, giving the sense of successor.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

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

  • 珏珏juépieces of jade
  • 刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

Open 班 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Social Roles & Status

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