排长 (pái zhǎng) — platoon leader; platoon commander

Definition

A military rank: the officer who commands a 排 (platoon, typically ∼30 soldiers). Above the squad leaders (班长) and below the company-level officers.

noun

platoon leaderplatoon commander

Measure word · 位

排长。
pái zhǎng Mìng lìng wǒ men lì kè chū fā.
The platoon leader ordered us to set out immediately.
排长。
Tā dāng le sān nián de pái zhǎng.
He served as a platoon leader for three years.
排长。
pái zhǎng Zhèng zài jiǎn chá shì bīng de zhuāng bèi.
The platoon leader is inspecting the soldiers' equipment.

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.

排 is a platoon, and 长 means leader, so the idea is a platoon leader.

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.

扌非排

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

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

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

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.