皇位 (huáng wèi) — the throne (imperial position or rule)

Definition

noun

the throne (imperial position or rule)

，皇位。
Jì chéng rén bì xū wèi zhǎng zǐ, cái néng jì chéng huáng wèi.
The heir must be the eldest son to inherit the throne.
皇位，。
Wèi le huáng wèi, tā men xiōng dì zhī jiān fā shēng le zhàn zhēng.
For the throne, war broke out between the brothers.
，皇位。
Xīn huáng dì dēng jī yǐ hòu, shǒu xiān yào gǒng gù huáng wèi.
After the new emperor ascended, he first had to consolidate the throne.

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.

位wèiposition

皇 'imperial' and 位 'position' combine to mean the emperor's throne.

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

𤼽𤼽𤼽

Sound part声符shēngfú

王

王wáng皇huáng

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

The part 𤼽 originally drew a single peacock feather; 王 was later added to give the sound.

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

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.