总部 (zǒng bù) — headquarters; main office

Definition

noun

headquartersmain office

Measure word · 个

总部。
Gōng sī de zǒng bù zài běi jīng.
The company's headquarters is in Beijing.
总部。
Suǒ yǒu yuán gōng dōu yào qù zǒng bù cān jiā péi xùn.
All employees have to go to headquarters for training.
总部。
zǒng bù Jué dìng xià ge yuè bān dào xīn dà lóu.
The headquarters decided to move to a new building next month.

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.

部bùdepartment

总 means overall or main, and 部 means department or office.

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu部bù

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

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Appears in