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董事会 (dǒng shì huì) — board of directors

Definition

董事会 is the group itself — the board of directors as a collective body. 董事 is an individual member of this board; 董事长 is its chairperson.

noun
board of directors
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 董事会。
    dǒng shì huì Pī zhǔn le xīn de tóu zī jì huà.
    The board of directors approved the new investment plan.
  • 董事会。
    Tā dāng xuǎn wèi dǒng shì huì zhǔ xí.
    He was elected chairman of the board of directors.
  • 董事会。
    dǒng shì huì Měi nián zhào kāi sì cì lì huì.
    The board of directors holds four regular meetings each year.

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.

董事director
董dǒngsupervise事shìaffairs
动宾Verb + object
会huìassociation

董事 (directors) plus 会 (association) makes a board of directors.

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng董dǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

董 is made of 艸 (grass) and 重, which is used for the sound.

Open 董 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Groups & Organizations5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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