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家长 (jiā zhǎng) — parent or guardian (of a child); head of a household; family head

Definition

家长 means 'parent or guardian' as a role, usually in the context of a child's school or upbringing. Use 父母 to talk simply about a person's mother and father as a couple.

noun
parent or guardian (of a child)head of a householdfamily head
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 家长。
    Xué xiào qǐng jiā zhǎng lái kāi huì.
    The school invites parents to come to a meeting.
  • 家长。
    jiā zhǎng Yào guān xīn hái zi de jiào yù wèn tí.
    Parents should care about their children's education issues.
  • 家长。
    Lǎo shī jīng cháng hé jiā zhǎng lián xì.
    Teachers often contact parents.

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.

家jiāhousehold
长chángelder; leader

家 means household and 长 means elder; together they name the elder or guardian of a family.

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
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

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
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