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领事 (lǐng shì) — consul

Definition

领事 (lǐngshì) is the person — a consul, an official representing their country abroad. Compare 领事馆, the place (the consulate building) where they work.

noun
consul
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 领事。
    Tā zài lǐng shì bàn gōng shì děng wǒ.
    He is waiting for me in the consul's office.
  • 领事。
    Wǒ qù lǐng shì bàn qiān zhèng.
    I go to the consul to process my visa.
  • 领事。
    Zhè wèi lǐng shì huì zhōng wén.
    This consul can speak Chinese.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

领lǐngmanage
事shìaffairs

领 means to manage and 事 means affairs, so the word names someone who manages affairs, a consul.

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 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng領lǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 is a later shorthand.

Open 领 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9International & Diplomacy

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