理事长 (lǐ shì zhǎng) — chairperson (of a council, board, or similar or…

Definition

noun

chairperson (of a council, board, or similar organization)

Measure word · 位

理事长。
Tā dāng xuǎn wèi lǐ shì zhǎng.
He was elected as the chairperson.
理事长。
lǐ shì zhǎng Zài huì yì shàng fā biǎo le zhòng yào jiǎng huà.
The chairperson delivered an important speech at the meeting.
理事长，。
Zuò wéi lǐ shì zhǎng, tā fù zé guǎn lǐ zhěng gè lǐ shì huì.
As the chairperson, he is responsible for managing the entire council.

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.

理事director

动宾Verb + object

理事 means director, 长 means chief; together they name the chief of a board.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.