官衔 (guān xián) — official title, rank

Definition

noun
official titlerank

Examples

  • 官衔。
    Tā de guān xián shì jú zhǎng.
    His official title is bureau chief.
  • 官衔。
    Gǔ dài guān yuán de guān xián fǎn yìng le tā men de jí bié.
    The official titles of ancient officials reflected their ranks.
  • 官衔。
    Míng piàn shàng yìn zhe tā de guān xián hé lián xì fāng shì.
    His business card has his official title and contact information printed on it.

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.

官guānofficial
衔xiántitle

官 means official, and 衔 means rank or title, giving an official title.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 銜; 衔 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
金
金jīn銜xián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 銜 puts 金 with 行, with 金 giving the sound and 行 the meaning. The simplified 衔 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 衔 →

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