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士官 (shì guān) — noncommissioned officer (NCO)

Definition

Noncommissioned officer (NCO) — the career enlisted ranks between 士兵 (ordinary soldier) and 军官 (commissioned officer). In the PLA, 士官 is the standard term, replacing the older 军士.

noun
noncommissioned officer (NCO)
Measure word · 名

Examples

  • 士官。
    Tā tōng guò nǔ lì cóng pǔ tōng shì bīng jìn shēng wéi shì guān.
    He worked hard and was promoted from ordinary soldier to NCO.
  • 士官。
    Zhè wèi shì guān yǒu èr shí nián de fú yì jīng yàn.
    This NCO has twenty years of service experience.
  • 士官。
    Bù duì lǐ shì guān fù zé xùn liàn xīn bīng.
    In the army, NCOs are responsible for training new recruits.

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.

士shìsoldier rank
官guānofficer

士 names a soldier rank and 官 names officer status, so it is a soldier with officer status.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →

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

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →
Appears in
Military & DefenseProfessions & Jobs

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