TongTong
Sign in

领袖 (lǐng xiù) — (formal) leader, chief (of a country, movement, or organization)

Definition

领袖 refers to a top leader of a country, movement, or nation — grander in scope than 领导 (any leader at work or in an organization) or 队长 (team captain).

noun
(formal) leaderchief (of a country, movement, or organization)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 领袖。
    Zhè wèi lǐng xiù dài lǐng rén mín zǒu xiàng fán róng.
    This leader led the people toward prosperity.
  • 领袖。
    Nà wèi lǐng xiù de sī xiǎng yǐng xiǎng le xǔ duō rén.
    That leader's thoughts influenced many people.
  • 领袖，。
    Zuò wéi yí wèi guó jiā lǐng xiù, tā měi tiān dōu yào chǔ lǐ hěn duō zhòng yào de shì qing.
    As a national leader, he has to handle many important matters every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

领lǐngcollar
袖xiùsleeve

“领” (collar) and “袖” (sleeve), key parts of clothing, together name a leading person.

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 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng領lǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 is a later shorthand.

Open 领 →

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
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
由
由yóu袖
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

袖 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 由, which provides the sound.

Open 袖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Management5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.