上座 (shàng zuò) — seat of honor; (of a performance, film) to attract a large audience, to be a box-office success; (Buddhist) senior monk, founding patriarch

Definition

Read shàngzuò as a noun meaning 'seat of honor' (the most respected place at a table or ceremony). The 'box-office hit' sense uses the verb 座率 in phrases like 上座率很高 — here it refers to audience turnout, not the seat itself.

noun
seat of honor(of a performance, film) to attract a large audienceto be a box-office success(Buddhist) senior monkfounding patriarch
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，上座。
    Zài yàn huì shàng, lǎo rén bèi qǐng dào le shàng zuò.
    At the banquet, the elderly person was invited to the seat of honor.
  • 上座，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng shàng zuò hěn gāo, chǎng chǎng bào mǎn.
    This movie has high attendance; every show is packed.
  • 上座。
    Nà zuò sì miào lǐ yǒu jǐ wèi shàng zuò.
    That temple has several senior monks.

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.

上shàngupper
座zuòseat

上 means upper or honored, and 座 means seat; together they name the best seat.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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
广广guǎnghouse on cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
坐
坐zuò座zuò
Same sound today

座 pairs 广, a house on a cliff, with 坐 to give the sound.

Open 座 →

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