外交部长 (wài jiāo bù zhǎng) — minister of foreign affairs; foreign minister

Definition

noun
minister of foreign affairsforeign minister
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 外交部长。
    wài jiāo bù zhǎng Jiāng yú xià zhōu fǎng wèn rì běn.
    The foreign minister will visit Japan next week.
  • 外交部长。
    Xīn rèn wài jiāo bù zhǎng zài jì zhě huì shàng fā biǎo le jiǎng huà.
    The newly appointed foreign minister gave a speech at the press conference.
  • 。
    Liǎng guó wài jiāo bù zhǎng jiù mào yì wèn tí jìn xíng le huì tán.
    The foreign ministers of the two countries held talks on trade issues.

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.

外交foreign relations
外wàioutside交jiāorelations
偏正Modifier + head
部长department chief
部bùdepartment长chángchief
偏正Modifier + head

外交 covers relations with the outside, and 部长 is the chief of a department, so the title names the chief for foreign affairs.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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