班主任 (bān zhǔ rèn) — homeroom teacher; class teacher | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

homeroom teacherclass teacher

Measure word · 位

Examples

班主任。
Wǒ men de bān zhǔ rèn hěn fù zé.
Our homeroom teacher is very responsible.
班主任。
bān zhǔ rèn Měi tiān dōu yào jiǎn chá xué shēng de zuò yè.
The homeroom teacher checks the students' homework every day.
班主任。
bān zhǔ rèn Hé tóng xué men yì qǐ cān jiā le yùn dòng huì.
The homeroom teacher participated in the sports meet with the students.

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.

主任person in charge

主zhǔmanage任rènduty

动宾Verb + object

“班” means class and “主任” means person in charge: the person in charge of a class.

Characters in this word

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

珏珏juépieces of jade
刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

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

亻壬任

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

壬

壬rén任rèn

Same sound today

任 pairs 亻, a person, with 壬, which may picture a shoulder pole turned sideways.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 5 Professions & Jobs School & Education

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