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众议员 (zhòng yì yuán) — congressman, member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Definition

众议员 is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (the lower house of Congress, 众议院). Use the measure word 位, as with people. 参议员 is the corresponding term for the Senate (upper house).

noun
congressman, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 众议员。
    Zhè wèi zhòng yì yuán dài biǎo jiā zhōu.
    This congressman represents California.
  • 众议员。
    Tā zài qù nián dāng xuǎn wèi zhòng yì yuán.
    He was elected as a congressman last year.
  • 众议员。
    Duō wèi zhòng yì yuán tóu piào zhī chí zhè xiàng fǎ àn.
    Many congressmen voted in support of this bill.

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.

众zhòngmany
议员representative
议yìdeliberate员yuánmember
偏正Modifier + head

众 means many, 议 means deliberate, and 员 means member, together naming a House representative.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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 議; 议 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yántalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì議⁰yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 議 pairs 言 (talk) with 義 as a sound component; the simplified 议 is a later shorthand.

Open 议 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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