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泰斗 (tài dǒu) — doyen, revered authority, leading figure (in a field)

Definition

Literary term for a towering, revered authority in a field. 泰斗 emphasizes supreme prestige and public respect; 元老 focuses on long-standing founding/early status within a group.

noun
doyenrevered authorityleading figure (in a field)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 泰斗。
    Zhè wèi kē xué jiè de tài dǒu yǐ jīng fā biǎo le shù bǎi piān lùn wén.
    This doyen of the scientific community has published hundreds of papers.
  • 泰斗。
    Tā bèi zūn wéi zhōng guó xiàn dài wén xué de tài dǒu.
    He is revered as a doyen of modern Chinese literature.
  • ，泰斗。
    Zài gāng qín yǎn zòu lǐng yù, tā kān chēng yí dài tài dǒu.
    In the field of piano performance, she can be called a leading authority of her generation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

泰tàiMount Tai
斗dòuDipper

泰 refers to Mount Tai and 斗 to the Dipper, both standing for towering, guiding figures.

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
廾廾gǒngtwo hands
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
大
大dà泰tài
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

泰 combines 大 for sound with 廾 (two hands) and 水 (water), showing hands handling water or something slippery.

Open 泰 →

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

The shape of 斗 originally showed a ladle-shaped dipper or cup used to measure grain, held in a hand.

Open 斗 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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