TongTong
Sign in

主使 (zhǔ shǐ) — to instigate; to mastermind (a crime, scheme, etc.)

Definition

主使 (zhǔshǐ) names the person who plans and directs a wrongdoing from behind — 'mastermind / instigator.' Stronger than 指使 (giving orders from a distance); distinct from 教唆 which means to urge or abet without necessarily running it.

verb
to instigateto mastermind (a crime, scheme, etc.)

Examples

  • 主使。
    Tā zhǔ shǐ le zhè cì kǒng bù xí jī.
    He masterminded this terrorist attack.
  • 主使。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī chá mù hòu zhǔ shǐ.
    The police are investigating the mastermind behind the scenes.
  • 主使。
    Tā chéng rèn zì jǐ zhǔ shǐ le zhè ge jì huà.
    He admitted that he instigated the plan.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

主zhǔdirect
使shǐcause

To 主 direct and 使 cause work together to mean instigate.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
吏
吏lì使shǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

使 pairs 亻 (person) with 吏, which pictures a hand holding something like a flag, giving the sense of a representative or ambassador.

Open 使 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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