寡头 (guǎ tóu) — oligarch (member of a small, powerful elite group)

Definition

寡头 is the Chinese term for an 'oligarch' — a member of a tiny, wealthy elite group that dominates an industry or a country's politics and economy.

noun
oligarch (member of a small, powerful elite group)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 寡头。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de jīng jì bèi shǎo shù guǎ tóu kòng zhì zhe.
    This country's economy is controlled by a few oligarchs.
  • 寡头，。
    guǎ tóu Lǒng duàn le néng yuán shì chǎng, dǎo zhì wù jià shàng zhǎng.
    Oligarchs monopolized the energy market, causing prices to rise.
  • 寡头。
    Jīn róng guǎ tóu zài zhèng jiè yě yǒu hěn dà yǐng xiǎng lì.
    Financial oligarchs also have great influence in political circles.

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.

寡guǎfew
头tóuleader

The word combines 寡 (few) and 头 (leader), naming a member of a small ruling elite.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 頁頁yèhead

The form 寡 pairs 宀, a house, with 頁, a head: one head in a house, alone.

Open 寡 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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