秘书处 (mì shū chù) — secretariat (administrative office); secretary's office

Definition

Refers to the administrative office of an organization (UN, government body, conference) that handles documents and coordination — a department, not a person.

noun
secretariat (administrative office)secretary's office
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 秘书处。
    Tā zài lián hé guó mì shū chù gōng zuò.
    He works at the UN Secretariat.
  • 秘书处。
    Huì yì cái liào yǐ jīng sòng dào mì shū chù le.
    The meeting materials have been sent to the secretariat.
  • 秘书处。
    mì shū chù Fù zé guǎn lǐ hé zhěng lǐ suǒ yǒu wén jiàn.
    The secretariat is responsible for managing and organizing all documents.

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.

秘书secretary
秘mìsecret书shūdocument
偏正Modifier + head
处chùoffice

秘书 means 'secretary' and 处 means 'office', giving a secretariat.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
必
必bì秘Bì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 必 part gives 秘 its sound. The 禾 side replaced an older ritual marker, linking it to secret rituals and arcane meaning.

Open 秘 →

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 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →

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