院长 (yuàn zhǎng) — head of an institution ending with 院 (e.g., col…

Definition

院长 is the head of an institution whose name ends in 院 — a dean for a 学院, a hospital director for a 医院. Use 校长 for a school principal instead.

noun

head of an institution ending with 院 (e.g., college, hospital, academy)

Measure word · 个

院长。
Wǒ men zhèng zài děng yuàn zhǎng de pī zhǔn.
We are waiting for the dean's approval.
院长。
Zhè wèi yuàn zhǎng shì cóng guó wài huí lái de zhuān jiā.
This hospital director is an expert who returned from abroad.
院长。
yuàn zhǎng Xià wǔ sān diǎn yǒu yí gè huì yì.
The dean has a meeting at 3 pm.

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.

院yuàninstitution

The sense of institution combines with head to mean the head of an institution.

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.

阝完院

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

完

完wán院yuàn

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

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in