TongTong
Sign in

主修 (zhǔ xiū) — to major in (a subject at university); (technical) to be responsible for the repair or maintenance of (a device)

Definition

Means 'to major in' an academic subject (contrast with 辅修 'to minor in'). The second sense — being responsible for repair or maintenance of a device — is a technical meaning, not an academic one.

verb
to major in (a subject at university)(technical) to be responsible for the repair or maintenance of (a device)

Examples

  • 主修。
    Wǒ zài dà xué zhǔ xiū jì suàn jī kē xué.
    I major in computer science at university.
  • 主修，。
    Tā zhǔ xiū jīng jì xué, tóng shí fǔ xiū fǎ yǔ.
    She majors in economics and also minors in French.
  • 主修。
    Zhè wèi gōng chéng shī zhǔ xiū zhè tái jī qì de rì cháng wéi hù.
    This engineer is responsible for the daily maintenance of this machine.

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.

主zhǔmain
修xiūstudy/repair

主 “main” and 修 “study/repair” express doing the main study or primary repair.

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →
Appears in
School & Education

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