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军衔 (jūn xián) — military rank

Definition

noun
military rank
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 军衔。
    Tā de jūn xián shì shàng xiào.
    His military rank is colonel.
  • 军衔。
    Zhè wèi jiāng jūn de jūn xián bǐ nà wèi gāo.
    This general's military rank is higher than that one's.
  • 军衔。
    Jìn shēng jūn xián xū yào jīng guò yán gé de kǎo hé.
    Being promoted in military rank requires passing a rigorous evaluation.

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.

军jūnarmy
衔xiánrank or title

军 means army and 衔 means rank or title, so 军衔 is an army rank.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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 銜; 衔 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
金
金jīn銜xián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 銜 puts 金 with 行, with 金 giving the sound and 行 the meaning. The simplified 衔 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 衔 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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