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夺魁 (duó kuí) — to win first place; to come out on top (in a contest, competition, or exam)

Definition

夺魁 specifically means to win first place or the top title in a competition — stronger and more focused than 赢得 (general 'to win/gain'), and narrower than 夺冠 (which emphasizes the championship specifically).

verb
to win first placeto come out on top (in a contest, competition, or exam)

Examples

  • 夺魁，。
    Tā zài jīn nián de shù xué jìng sài zhōng duó kuí, huò dé le jīn pái.
    He won first place in this year's math competition and got a gold medal.
  • ，夺魁？
    Zhè cì quán guó zuò wén dà sài, shuí néng duó kuí ne?
    Who can take the top spot in this national essay contest?
  • ，夺魁。
    Jīng guò kè kǔ xùn liàn, tā zhōng yú zài shì jiè jǐn biāo sài shàng duó kuí.
    After hard training, she finally won the championship at the world championships.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

夺duóseize
魁kuíchief place

To 夺 the 魁, or chief place, is to win first place or come out on top.

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 奪; 夺 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 奪 includes 又 (a hand), 雀 (a bird), and 衣 (clothing), showing a hand seizing a bird from someone; the simplified 夺 is a later abbreviation.

Open 夺 →

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
斗斗dòuladle
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ魁kuí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

魁 pairs 斗, a ladle, with 鬼, which supplies the sound. The evidence identifies the original thing as a soup ladle.

Open 魁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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