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课长 (kè cháng) — section chief, department manager (in Japanese companies or Japanese-influenced contexts)

Definition

A Japanese-style job title meaning 'section chief' (a mid-level manager of a department), used in Japanese companies or Japanese-influenced workplaces in China. Often left in Japanese kanji pronunciation rather than translated.

noun
section chiefdepartment manager (in Japanese companies or Japanese-influenced contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 课长。
    Wǒ men gōng sī de kè cháng shì cóng dōng jīng diào lái de.
    Our company's section chief was transferred from Tokyo.
  • 课长，。
    kè cháng, Zhè fèn bào gào qǐng nín guò mù.
    Section chief, please take a look at this report.
  • 课长，。
    Tā zài rì qǐ zuò le wǔ nián kè cháng, jīng yàn hěn fēng fù.
    He worked as a section chief in a Japanese company for five years and has rich experience.

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.

课kèsection
长chángchief

课 names a section and 长 a chief, so the title is a section chief.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 課; 课 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánto say
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ課kè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 課 pairs 言 (to say) with 果 as a sound part; the simplified 课 is a shorthand and its right side is not a sound part.

Open 课 →

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 →
Appears in
ManagementProfessions & Jobs

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