爵位 (jué wèi) — noble rank, title of nobility

Definition

noun

noble ranktitle of nobility

Examples

，爵位。
Zài fēng jiàn shí dài, jué wèi dài biǎo le shēn fèn hé dì wèi.
In feudal times, noble rank represented status and position.
爵位。
Tā yīn wèi zhàn gōng dé dào le hěn gāo de jué wèi.
He received a high noble rank because of military achievements.
，爵位。
Zài gǔ dài, jué wèi tōng cháng shì shì xí de.
In ancient times, noble ranks were usually hereditary.

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.

爵juénoble rank

位wèiposition

爵 denotes a noble rank and 位 denotes a position, together naming a rank in the nobility.

Characters in this word

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

爵 originally pictured a sparrow-shaped wine vessel, sometimes with a hand holding it. In the modern form, the vessel's parts were reshaped and separated.

Open 爵 →

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

人人rénman

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

立lì位wèi

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

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →

Appears in

History Identity & Titles