桂冠 (guì guān) — laurel (symbol of victory or honor) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/formal term for the 'laurel' of victory or top honor — used in writing (e.g. literature, science, sports) rather than everyday speech. The measure word 顶 refers to the crown shape.

noun

laurel (symbol of victory or honor)

Measure word · 顶

Examples

桂冠。
Tā zài ào yùn huì shàng zhāi qǔ le guì guān.
He won the laurel at the Olympics.
桂冠。
Zhè wèi zuò jiā píng jiè zhè bù xiǎo shuō huò dé le wén xué jiè de guì guān.
This writer won the literary laurel with this novel.
，桂冠。
Tā jīng guò duō nián nǔ lì, zhōng yú dài shàng le kē xué de guì guān.
After years of hard work, she finally wore the laurel of science.

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.

桂 means laurel and 冠 means crown, so the idea is a laurel crown.

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.

木圭桂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

圭guī桂guì

Same sound today

桂 is built from 木, a tree, and 圭, which points to its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

冖元寸冠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

冖冖mìhat

寸寸cùnhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

元yuán冠guàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冠 shows a hand putting a hat on a head: 寸 is the hand, 冖 is the hat, and 元 is the head.

Appears in

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