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独裁者 (dú cái zhě) — dictator; autocrat

Definition

noun
dictatorautocrat
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 独裁者。
    Nà ge dú cái zhě tǒng zhì le zhè ge guó jiā èr shí nián.
    That dictator ruled this country for twenty years.
  • 独裁者。
    Rén mín zhōng yú tuī fān le dú cái zhě de zhèng quán.
    The people finally overthrew the dictator's regime.
  • 独裁者。
    Lì shǐ shàng hěn duō dú cái zhě zuì zhōng dōu bèi tuī fān le.
    Many dictators in history were eventually overthrown.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

独裁rule alone
独dúalone裁cáidecide
偏正Modifier + head
者zhěperson/one

独 means alone and 裁 means to decide; 者 denotes a person, so the word names one who decides alone.

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 獨; 独 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ獨dú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獨 pairs 犬 (dog) with 蜀, which gives the sound; the simplified 独 is a shorthand.

Open 独 →

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
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢦏
𢦏𢦏裁cái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

裁 combines 衣 (clothing) with 𢦏, whose form is tied to a blade and an arrow, to show cutting fabric.

Open 裁 →

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

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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