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秘书 (mì shū) — secretary

Definition

An office secretary — a person who handles scheduling, documents, and admin for someone. Don't confuse with 书记, which is a Party-branch official, not an office role.

noun
secretary
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 秘书。
    Wǒ de mì shū bāng wǒ zhǔn bèi hǎo le suǒ yǒu de cái liào.
    My secretary prepared all the materials for me.
  • 秘书。
    Xīn lái de mì shū zuò shì hěn rèn zhēn.
    The new secretary is very conscientious at work.
  • 秘书。
    Nǐ kě yǐ zhí jiē lián xì liú mì shū ān pái huì yì shí jiān.
    You can contact Secretary Liu directly to arrange the meeting time.

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.

秘mìsecret
书shūdocument

秘 means secret and 书 means document, giving the idea of someone who handles confidential papers.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
必
必bì秘Bì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 必 part gives 秘 its sound. The 禾 side replaced an older ritual marker, linking it to secret rituals and arcane meaning.

Open 秘 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →
Appears in
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