歌王 (gē wáng) — king of songs (title for a highly accomplished male singer)

Definition

歌王 (gē wáng) literally means 'song king' — an honorific title given to a top male singer, not a job or rank. 王 here is figurative praise, not 'monarch'.

noun
king of songs (title for a highly accomplished male singer)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 歌王。
    Zhè wèi gē wáng de yǎn chàng huì mén piào hěn kuài jiù shòu qìng le.
    This king of songs' concert tickets sold out very quickly.
  • 歌王。
    Tā bèi yù wéi huá yǔ yuè tán de gē wáng.
    He is hailed as the king of songs in the Chinese music scene.
  • 歌王。
    Xīn jìn gē wáng píng jiè dú tè de sǎng yīn zhēng fú le wú shù gē mí.
    The newly crowned king of songs conquered countless fans with his unique voice.

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.

歌gēsong
王wángking

歌 names songs, and 王 says the person rules that realm.

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
欠欠qiànblow
Sound part声符shēngfú
哥
哥gē歌gē
Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

Open 歌 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Open 王 →

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