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首领 (shǒu lǐng) — leader, chieftain (of a tribe, military unit, or group); (archaic/literary) head and neck

Definition

A formal or literary word for the 'leader' or 'chieftain' of a tribe, military unit, or other group. Use 领袖 (more political/state-level) when referring to the head of a nation or major organization.

noun
leaderchieftain (of a tribe, military unit, or group)(archaic/literary) head and neck
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 首领。
    Zhè ge bù luò de shǒu lǐng jué dìng yǔ lín zú jié méng.
    The chieftain of this tribe decided to form an alliance with the neighboring tribe.
  • 首领。
    Pàn jūn de shǒu lǐng zài zhàn dòu zhōng bèi fú.
    The rebel leader was captured during the battle.
  • 首领。
    Gǔ dài bù luò shǒu lǐng de quán lì wǎng wǎng shì xí.
    The power of ancient tribal chieftains was often hereditary.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

首shǒuchief
领lǐngneck

“首” and “领” name the chief part and neck, the leading parts of the body, so together they came to mean leader.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

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 →
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