TongTong
Sign in

机长 (jī zhǎng) — aircraft commander; captain (of an airplane)

Definition

The captain or pilot-in-command of an aircraft — specifically the most senior pilot who is legally responsible for the flight. 船长 is the ship-based equivalent, not a sibling here.

noun
aircraft commandercaptain (of an airplane)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 机长。
    Tā shì zhè jià fēi jī de jī zhǎng.
    He is the captain of this aircraft.
  • 机长。
    jī zhǎng Fù zé zhěng gè háng bān de ān quán.
    The captain is responsible for the safety of the entire flight.
  • 机长。
    Zhè wèi jī zhǎng yǒu shí wǔ nián de fēi xíng jīng yàn.
    This captain has fifteen years of flying experience.

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.

机jīaircraft/machine
长chángchief/leader

机 aircraft and 长 chief combine to mean the aircraft commander.

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →
Appears in
Air TravelProfessions & Jobs

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