次席 (cì xí) — (formal) the seat next to the guest of honor or person in command; (official title) vice-chairman, deputy chief

Definition

Formal term with two senses: the seat next to the guest of honor, or an official title meaning vice/deputy (as in 次席检察官, 'deputy chief prosecutor'). Always written/ceremonial register, never used in casual speech.

noun
(formal) the seat next to the guest of honor or person in command(official title) vice-chairmandeputy chief

Examples

  • 次席。
    Tā zài huì yì zhōng zuò zài cì xí.
    He sat in the secondary seat at the meeting.
  • 次席。
    cì xí Jiǎn chá guān fù zé zhè qǐ zhòng dà àn jiàn.
    The deputy chief prosecutor is in charge of this major case.
  • ，次席。
    Yàn huì shàng, cì xí shì liú gěi zuì zūn guì de kè rén de.
    At the banquet, the secondary seat is reserved for the most honored guest.

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.

次cìnext
席xíseat

次 marks the next or second position, and 席 denotes a seat, so the word names the seat beside the chief one.

Characters in this word

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

The old form of 次 shows a person exhaling, with the marks above the figure representing breath.

Open 次 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

席 originally showed a woven mat with an ornament. In 席, the mat became 巾, and a later sound part was written as 庶.

Open 席 →

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