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枪手 (qiāng shǒu) — sharpshooter; gunner; (colloquial) someone who takes an exam or writes a paper for someone else; test proxy; ghostwriter

Definition

Two distinct senses: literally a 'sharpshooter / gunner', or colloquially someone paid to take an exam or write a paper for you (a 'ghostwriter' or test proxy).

noun
sharpshootergunner(colloquial) someone who takes an exam or writes a paper for someone elsetest proxyghostwriter
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 枪手，。
    Tā shì yì míng chū sè de qiāng shǒu, bǎi fā bǎi zhòng.
    He is an excellent sharpshooter, hitting the target every time.
  • 枪手。
    Tā huā qián zhǎo le yí gè qiāng shǒu bāng tā kǎo jià zhào.
    He paid to find a proxy to take the driving test for him.
  • 枪手。
    Jǐng fāng zhuā huò le yì míng kǎo shì qiāng shǒu.
    The police arrested an exam proxy.

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.

枪qiānggun
手shǒuperson

A 手 (person) with a 枪 (gun) is a shooter; colloquially a test proxy.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
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