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室长 (shì cháng) — head of a dormitory room; section head in an office

Definition

A compound of 室 ("room/office") and 长 ("head/leader"). Used in two contexts: the student elected to lead a dorm room, or the person in charge of a section (科室/办公室) at work.

noun
head of a dormitory roomsection head in an office
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 室长。
    Wǒ men sù shè de shì cháng fù zé měi tiān jiǎn chá wèi shēng.
    Our dormitory room head is responsible for checking cleanliness every day.
  • 室长。
    Bàn gōng shì shì cháng tōng zhī dà jiā xià wǔ liǎng diǎn kāi huì.
    The office section head informed everyone of a meeting at 2 PM.
  • 室长，。
    Zuò wéi shì cháng, tā yào xié tiáo hǎo běn shì chéng yuán de gōng zuò ān pái.
    As the room head, he needs to coordinate the work schedules of the office members.

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.

室shìroom
长chánghead

The part 室 room specifies the area of which 长 is head, giving room chief or section head.

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →

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 →
Appears in
Professions & JobsSocial Roles & Status

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