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主教练 (zhǔ jiào liàn) — head coach, principal coach

Definition

noun
head coachprincipal coach
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 主教练。
    Zhè wèi zhǔ jiào liàn dài lǐng qiú duì yíng dé le guàn jūn.
    This head coach led the team to win the championship.
  • 主教练。
    Qiú duì de zhǔ jiào liàn zhèng zài zhì dìng xīn de xùn liàn jì huà.
    The team's head coach is making a new training plan.
  • 主教练，。
    Zuò wéi yì míng yōu xiù de zhǔ jiào liàn, tā fēi cháng liǎo jiě měi gè duì yuán de tè diǎn.
    As an excellent head coach, he knows each player's characteristics very well.

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zhǔprincipal
教练coach
教jiàoteach练liàntrain
联合Coordinate

主教练 joins 主, principal, with 教练, a coach who teaches and trains.

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
子子zǐchild
攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority
Sound part声符shēngfú
爻
爻yáo教jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

Open 教 →

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 練; 练 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
柬
柬jiǎn練liàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 練 has 糸, silk, and 柬, which gives the sound. The simplified 练 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not historical.

Open 练 →
Appears in
Professions & JobsSports & Athletics

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