Meaning of 总裁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- chairman
- director-general (of a company etc)
How to use 总裁
总裁 is used for the top executive of a company or large organization, often translated as president or CEO. It can be used as a title after a surname. Example: 王总裁明天来开会。(Wáng zǒngcái míngtiān lái kāihuì.) President Wang is coming to the meeting tomorrow.
总 (zǒng) means overall or general, and 裁 (cái) means to cut or decide, as in 裁判 (cáipàn) referee. The 总裁 is the person who makes the overall decisions for a whole company.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 总裁 with 总统 (zǒngtǒng), which means the president of a country, not a company. Also watch the character 裁 (cái), which looks like 栽 (zāi, to plant) and 载 (zài, to carry); 裁 has 衣 (clothing) at the bottom left.
总裁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
总 zǒng · general · 9 strokes
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- 9
裁 cái · to cut out · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 总裁.
| 总是 | zǒngshì | always |
| 总结 | zǒngjié | to sum up; to conclude |
| 总统 | zǒngtǒng | president (of a country) |
| 总之 | zǒngzhī | in a word; in short |
| 总理 | zǒnglǐ | premier; prime minister |
| 总共 | zǒnggòng | altogether; in sum; in all; in total |
| 总算 | zǒngsuàn | at long last; finally |
| 裁判 | cáipàn | (law) to judge; to adjudicate; verdict; judgement; (sports) to referee |
| 总体 | zǒngtǐ | completely; totally |
| 总数 | zǒngshù | total; sum |
| 总部 | zǒngbù | headquarters |
| 总监 | zǒngjiān | head; director (of an organizational unit) |
Questions about 总裁
What does 总裁 mean?
总裁 (zǒngcái) means "chairman; director-general (of a company etc)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 总裁?
总裁 is made of 2 characters: 总 (9 strokes), 裁 (12 strokes). That is 21 strokes in total.
Is 总裁 an HSK word?
Yes. 总裁 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 总裁 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 总裁 is written 總裁.
What is the difference between 总裁 and 总经理?
总经理 (zǒngjīnglǐ) is the general manager who runs daily operations. 总裁 usually ranks higher and leads the whole company or group, though usage varies between companies.
How do people address a 总裁 in everyday speech?
In daily office talk, people often shorten the title to surname plus 总, such as 王总 (Wáng zǒng). This is polite and common for any senior executive.