Meaning of 船长
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- captain (of a boat)
- skipper
How to use 船长
船长 is the standard word for the captain of a ship or boat, from a fishing boat skipper to the captain of a large cruise ship. It can also be used as a title when speaking to the person. Example: 船长命令大家穿上救生衣。(Chuánzhǎng mìnglìng dàjiā chuān shàng jiùshēngyī.) The captain ordered everyone to put on life jackets.
船 (chuán) means boat and 长 (zhǎng) means head or chief, so 船长 is simply the chief of the boat. Think of the same 长 you see in 校长 (xiàozhǎng) and 市长 (shìzhǎng), the person in charge.
Common mistake: Learners often read 长 here as cháng (long), but in 船长 it is zhǎng, meaning chief, so say chuánzhǎng. Also do not use 队长 (duìzhǎng) for a ship captain, since 队长 is the captain of a team.
船长 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.
船 chuán · boat · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
长 cháng · long · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 船长.
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up |
| 队长 | duìzhǎng | captain; team leader |
| 市长 | shìzhǎng | mayor |
| 校长 | xiàozhǎng | (college, university) president; headmaster |
| 家长 | jiāzhǎng | head of a household; family head |
| 院长 | yuànzhǎng | the head of an institution whose name ends in 院[yuan4]; chair of a board; university presi |
| 组长 | zǔzhǎng | group leader |
| 班长 | bānzhǎng | class monitor; squad leader |
| 部长 | bùzhǎng | head of a (government etc) department; section chief |
| 成长 | chéngzhǎng | to mature; to grow |
| 长期 | chángqī | long-term; for a protracted period |
| 生长 | shēngzhǎng | to grow; to grow up |
Questions about 船长
What does 船长 mean?
船长 (chuánzhǎng) means "captain (of a boat); skipper" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 船长?
船长 is made of 2 characters: 船 (11 strokes), 长 (4 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 船长 an HSK word?
Yes. 船长 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 船长 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 船长 is written 船長.
What is the Chinese word for the captain of an airplane?
An airplane captain is usually called 机长 (jīzhǎng), not 船长. The pattern is the same: the vehicle plus 长 for the person in charge.
Can 船长 be used for a military ship captain?
Yes, in everyday speech people may say 船长. In formal naval contexts, the commander of a warship is often called 舰长 (jiànzhǎng), using 舰 for warship.