掌勺 (zhǎng biāo) — to be the head cook, to be in charge of the kitchen

Definition

掌勺 means being the head cook — the person in charge of the kitchen, not just someone who cooks. It's a fixed role term, typically used for the chef running a restaurant kitchen or a banquet.

verb
to be the head cookto be in charge of the kitchen

Examples

  • ，掌勺。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de cài hěn hǎo chī, yīn wèi shì yí wèi yǒu míng de dà chú zhǎng biāo.
    The food at this restaurant is delicious because a famous chef is in charge of the kitchen.
  • ，。
    Tā zhǎng le sān shí nián sháo, jīng yàn fēi cháng fēng fù.
    He has been a chef for thirty years and has very rich experience.
  • 掌勺。
    Jīn tiān wǎn shàng de yàn huì yóu lǐ shī fu zhǎng biāo.
    Tonight's banquet is being handled by Chef Li.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

掌zhǎngmanage
勺sháoladle

掌 means to manage, and 勺 is the ladle; together they mean being in charge of cooking.

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng掌zhǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

Open 掌 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

勺 shows a mark for wine inside a ladle or spoon shape.

Open 勺 →

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