王冠 (wáng guān) — crown (royal headwear)

Definition

noun

crown (royal headwear)

Measure word · 顶

王冠。
Guó wáng zài yí shì shàng dài shàng le wáng guān.
The king put on the crown during the ceremony.
王冠。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū de shì gǔ dài huáng dì de wáng guān.
The museum exhibits the ancient emperor's crown.
王冠。
wáng guān Xiàng zhēng zhe quán lì hé dì wèi.
The crown symbolizes power and status.

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.

王 means king and 冠 means crown, naming a king's crown.

Characters in this word

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

冖元寸冠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

冖冖mìhat

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

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

冠 shows a hand putting a hat on a head: 寸 is the hand, 冖 is the hat, and 元 is the head.

Appears in