阁员 (gé yuán) — cabinet member

Definition

Literally 'a member of the 阁 (cabinet)'. In practice almost always used as part of the phrase 内阁 (cabinet); rarely used alone, and refers to a high-level minister appointed to the cabinet, not lower-ranking officials.

noun
cabinet member
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 阁员。
    Zhè wèi gé yuán fù zé wài jiāo shì wù.
    This cabinet member is in charge of foreign affairs.
  • 阁员。
    Zǒng tǒng rèn mìng le xīn de gé yuán.
    The president appointed new cabinet members.
  • ，阁员。
    Nèi gé huì yì zhōng, gé yuán men tǎo lùn le jīng jì zhèng cè.
    During the cabinet meeting, cabinet members discussed economic policy.

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.

阁gécabinet
员yuánmember

阁 gives the cabinet and 员 gives a member, so a cabinet member.

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 閣; 阁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méngate
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè閣gé
Same sound today

The traditional form 閣 pairs 門 (gate) with 各, which gives the pronunciation; this note is about 閣, not the simplified 阁.

Open 阁 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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