警卫员 (jǐng wèi yuán) — bodyguard

Definition

noun
bodyguard
Measure word · 名

Examples

  • 警卫员。
    Zhè wèi jǐng wèi yuán yì zhí bǎo hù zhe zǒng tǒng de ān quán.
    This bodyguard has been protecting the president's safety.
  • 警卫员。
    Tā shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de jǐng wèi yuán.
    He is an experienced bodyguard.
  • 警卫员。
    Gōng sī wèi tā pèi bèi le liǎng míng jǐng wèi yuán.
    The company assigned two bodyguards to him.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

警卫guard
警jǐngalert卫wèiguard
联合Side by side
员yuánperson

The 警卫 (guard) describes the 员 (person), giving a guard assigned to protect someone.

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
言言yánspoken language, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
敬
敬jìng警
Same sound today

警 places 言 (speech) below 敬; 敬 gives the sound.

Open 警 →

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 衛; 卫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi衛wèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 衛 is built from 行 as the sense part and 韋 as the sound part; the simplified 卫 is a shorthand.

Open 卫 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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