群英 (qún yīng) — a gathering of heroes; a group of outstanding individuals

Definition

A literary phrase meaning a group of outstanding people gathered together. Used mostly in writing to praise a collective of heroes, experts, or leading figures in a field.

noun
a gathering of heroesa group of outstanding individuals

Examples

  • 群英。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài xī yǐn le lái zì quán guó de qún yīng.
    This competition attracted heroes from all over the country.
  • 群英。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō qún yīng huì jù de shí dài.
    There have been many eras in history when heroes gathered.
  • 群英。
    Zhè běn shū jì lù le dāng dài kē jì qún yīng de gù shi.
    This book records the stories of contemporary tech heroes.

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.

群qúngroup
英yīngoutstanding people

群 gives a group, and 英 gives outstanding people, so it means heroes or top workers.

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
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn群
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
央
央yāng英yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Open 英 →

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