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智囊团 (zhì náng tuán) — think tank; brain trust

Definition

noun
think tankbrain trust
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 智囊团。
    Zhè ge zhì náng tuán wèi gōng sī tí gōng le hěn duō jiàn yì.
    This think tank provided a lot of advice for the company.
  • 智囊团。
    Zhèng fǔ zuì jìn chéng lì le yí gè xīn de zhì náng tuán.
    The government recently established a new think tank.
  • 智囊团。
    Xǔ duō dà gōng sī dōu yǒu zì jǐ de zhì náng tuán.
    Many large companies have their own think tanks.

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.

智囊bag of wisdom
智zhìwisdom囊nángbag
偏正Modifier + head
团tuángroup

智囊 is a 'bag of wisdom', and 团 is a group, so together they mean a think tank.

Characters in this word

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

The early form 智 used 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to pass knowledge to a child.

Open 智 →

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
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →

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 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →
Appears in
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