冠名 (guàn míng) — (noun) name of an ancient hat/cap

Definition

In classical Chinese, 冠 refers specifically to the ceremonial hat or cap worn by adults (especially officials) in ancient China — a cultural/ritual term rather than everyday headgear.

noun
name of an ancient hat/cap

Examples

  • 冠名。
    Zhè zhǒng guàn míng zài gǔ dài wén xiàn zhōng yǒu xiáng xì jì zǎi.
    This kind of headgear name is recorded in detail in ancient texts.
  • 冠名，“”“弁”。
    Tā yán jiū le xǔ duō bù tóng de guàn míng, rú "miǎn" hé "biàn".
    He studied many different headgear names, such as 'Mian' and 'Bian'.
  • 冠名。
    Gǔ dài de guàn míng cháng cháng yǔ guān zhí děng jí xiāng guān.
    Ancient headgear names were often related to official rank levels.

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.

冠guānhat
名míngname

冠 denotes a hat and 名 denotes name, giving the name of an ancient hat.

Characters in this word

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
冖冖mìhat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán冠guàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冠 shows a hand putting a hat on a head: 寸 is the hand, 冖 is the hat, and 元 is the head.

Open 冠 →

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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