部长 meaning in English
head of a (government etc) department; section chief
Meaning of 部长
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- head of a (government etc) department
- section chief
- section head
- secretary
- minister
Measure word: 個|个,位,名
How to use 部长
部长 is used for a government minister, like 外交部长 (wàijiāo bùzhǎng, foreign minister), and also for the head of a department in a company, school, or student club. Example: 他是学生会的宣传部长。(Tā shì xuéshēnghuì de xuānchuán bùzhǎng.) He is head of publicity in the student union.
部 (bù) means a department or section, and 长 (zhǎng) means the head or leader, as in 队长 (duìzhǎng, team leader). Put them together and the 部长 is the head of a 部, the department.
Common mistake: Learners often read 长 as cháng (long) here, but in 部长 it is zhǎng, the same as in 长大 (zhǎngdà) and 队长 (duìzhǎng). Also, do not confuse 部 (bù) with 陪 (péi). The ear part ⻏ sits on the right in 部 but on the left in 陪.
部长 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.
部 bù · ministry · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
长 cháng · long · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 部长.
| 全部 | quánbù | whole; all |
| 部分 | bùfen | part; portion; piece; Taiwan pr. [bu4fen4] |
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up |
| 队长 | duìzhǎng | captain; team leader |
| 一部分 | yī bùfen | portion; part of |
| 大部分 | dàbùfen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 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 |
Questions about 部长
What does 部长 mean?
部长 (bùzhǎng) means "head of a (government etc) department; section chief" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 部长?
部长 is made of 2 characters: 部 (10 strokes), 长 (4 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 部长 an HSK word?
Yes. 部长 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 部长 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 部长 is written 部長.
How do you address a minister or department head in Chinese?
Put the surname before the title, for example 王部长 (Wáng bùzhǎng, Minister Wang). Using the title this way is polite and very common in both government and workplace settings.
What is the difference between 部长 and 经理 (jīnglǐ)?
部长 is the head of a 部, a department or ministry, and it is common in government, schools, and some companies. 经理 means manager and is the more typical title in business. A company may use either one depending on its structure.