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船长 (chuán zhǎng) — captain (of a ship), skipper

Definition

noun
captain (of a ship)skipper
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 船长。
    chuán zhǎng Yǐ jīng zài zhè tiáo chuán shàng gōng zuò le èr shí nián.
    The captain has worked on this ship for twenty years.
  • 船长。
    Yí wèi yōu xiù de chuán zhǎng bì xū liǎo jiě hǎi yáng hé tiān qì.
    An excellent captain must understand the ocean and weather.
  • 船长。
    Zhè shì wǒ dì yī cì jiàn dào zhè sōu chuán de chuán zhǎng.
    This is the first time I met the captain of this ship.

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.

船chuánship
长chángchief

船 with 长 names the chief of a ship.

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
舟舟zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣船
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Open 船 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →
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