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国务卿 (guó wù qīng) — U.S. Secretary of State

Definition

noun
U.S. Secretary of State
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 国务卿。
    Měi guó guó wù qīng huì jiàn le zhōng guó wài jiāo bù zhǎng.
    The U.S. Secretary of State met with the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs.
  • 国务卿。
    guó wù qīng Xuān bù le xià zhōu duì rì běn de fǎng wèn.
    The Secretary of State announced a visit to Japan next week.
  • 国务卿。
    Zhè wèi guó wù qīng zài jì zhě huì shàng tán dào le qì hòu biàn huà wèn tí.
    This Secretary of State talked about climate change at the press conference.

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.

国务state affairs
国guóstate务wùaffairs
偏正Modifier + head
卿qīnghigh official

国务 means the affairs of the state, and 卿 names a high official.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
敄
敄wù務wù
Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

Open 务 →

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

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two men facing each other
  • 皀皀jífood vessel with a stand

The shape 卿 shows 𠨍, two men facing each other, beside 皀, a food vessel on a stand, as a scene of people sharing a ritual feast.

Open 卿 →
Appears in
Government & PoliticsProfessions & Jobs

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