本部 (běn bù) — headquarters, main office

Definition

noun

headquartersmain office

Measure word · 个

本部。
Gōng sī de běn bù zài běi jīng.
The company's headquarters is in Beijing.
本部。
Wǒ men běn bù yǒu sān bǎi míng yuán gōng.
Our headquarters has 300 employees.
本部。
Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn wén jiàn sòng dào běn bù.
Please send this document to headquarters.

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

本 refers to the main or this, and 部 to a department or office, together meaning headquarters.

Characters in this word

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

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

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