物主 (wù zhǔ) — owner (of an object or property)

Definition

Formal or legal-style term for the 'owner' of an object or property; used in contexts like lost-and-found, police reports, and contracts, where a plain owner is too casual.

noun
owner (of an object or property)

Examples

  • 物主。
    Qǐng bǎ shī wù jiāo gěi wù zhǔ.
    Please turn over the lost item to the owner.
  • 物主。
    Wǒ men hái zài xún zhǎo nà liàng chē de wù zhǔ.
    We are still looking for the owner of that car.
  • 物主，。
    Jì rán wù zhǔ yǐ chū xiàn, jiù kě yǐ jié àn le.
    Now that the owner has appeared, the case can be closed.

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.

物wùthing
主zhǔmaster

物主 pairs 物 and 主 to mean the one who owns something.

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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