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总监 (zǒng jiān) — (noun) director; executive; head of a department or project in a company; (noun) chief inspector (in police, inspection, or supervision contexts)

Definition

A senior management title meaning 'director' or 'chief' — the executive who oversees a department (marketing, finance, etc.), and in police/inspection contexts, a chief inspector.

noun
directorexecutivehead of a department or project in a companychief inspector (in police, inspection, or supervision contexts)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 总监。
    Tā zài gōng sī dān rèn shì chǎng zǒng jiān.
    He serves as the marketing director in the company.
  • 总监。
    Jǐng chá jú de zǒng jiān fù zé diào chá zhè ge àn zi.
    The chief inspector of the police station is in charge of investigating this case.
  • 总监。
    Wǒ men xū yào tīng qǔ cái wù zǒng jiān de jiàn yì.
    We need to listen to the advice of the financial director.

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.

总zǒngchief/overall
监jiānsupervise/inspect

总 means overall and 监 means supervise, together naming a person who oversees a whole department.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 總; 总 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
悤
悤cōng總zǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 總 has 糸, a rope, and 悤 as a sound part; the rope part is for binding together. This account is for 總, not for 总.

Open 总 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

  • 臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

Open 监 →
Appears in
ManagementProfessions & Jobs

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