达官 (dá guān) — high-ranking officials; dignitaries

Definition

Literary/formal term for 'high-ranking officials,' almost always appearing in the set phrase 达官贵人. It belongs to written or historical contexts, not everyday speech.

noun
high-ranking officialsdignitaries
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 达官。
    Gǔ dài shè huì de dá guān xiǎng yǒu xǔ duō tè quán.
    High officials in ancient society enjoyed many privileges.
  • 达官。
    Zhè jiā rén de xiān zǔ céng shì yí wèi dá guān.
    The ancestor of this family was once a high-ranking official.
  • 达官。
    dá guān Chū xíng shí wǎng wǎng qián hū hòu yōng.
    When high officials travel, they are often surrounded by attendants.

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.

达dáprominent
官guānofficial

达 suggests prominence and 官 means official, together naming a high-ranking official.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
大
大dà达dá
Same sound today

This form 达 pairs 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 大 as a sound component.

Open 达 →

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

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →

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