擎天柱 (qíng tiān zhù) — mainstay; pillar (of a cause, organization, or enterprise); the most important leader or backbone of a group
Definition
Literal image of a pillar holding up the sky, used figuratively for the irreplaceable person a group depends on — stronger and more literary than everyday 骨干 or 顶梁柱.
noun
mainstaypillar (of a cause, organization, or enterprise)the most important leader or backbone of a group
Examples
- 擎天柱，。Tā shì wǒ men gōng sī de qíng tiān zhù, méi yǒu tā gōng sī zǎo jiù dǎo bì le.He is the pillar of our company; without him, the company would have gone bankrupt long ago.
- 擎天柱，。Zhè wèi lǎo jiàng jūn shì jūn duì de qíng tiān zhù, shēn shòu shì bīng ài dài.This old general is the mainstay of the army, deeply loved by the soldiers.
- ，擎天柱。Zài kùn nan shí qī, tā chéng le zhěng gè jiā zú de qíng tiān zhù.During difficult times, she became the pillar of the entire family.
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.
擎天 means holding up the sky, and 柱 is a pillar; together they picture a mainstay.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.