村委会 (cūn wěi huì) — village committee (the basic-level self-governing organization in rural China)

Definition

Short for 村民委员会 — the elected village-level self-governing body in rural China, the lowest tier of grassroots administration. It is an organization, not a single person.

noun
village committee (the basic-level self-governing organization in rural China)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 村委会。
    cūn wěi huì Fù zé guǎn lǐ cūn lǐ de gōng gòng shì wù.
    The village committee is responsible for managing the village's public affairs.
  • 村委会。
    Cūn mín zài cūn wěi huì xuǎn jǔ zhōng tóu le piào.
    The villagers cast their votes in the village committee election.
  • 村委会。
    cūn wěi huì Jué dìng xiū yì tiáo xīn lù.
    The village committee decided to build a new road.

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.

村cūnvillage
委会committee
委wěidelegate会huìassociation
偏正Modifier + head

村 gives 'village' and 委会 gives 'committee', forming a village committee.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
寸
寸cùn村cūn
Same sound today

村 pairs 木 (tree) with 寸 as a sound hint; its origin is unclear.

Open 村 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé委wěi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

委 has 女 under 禾. 女, a woman, is the meaning part, and 禾 gives the sound.

Open 委 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

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