HSK Guide

校长校長 xiàozhǎng — headteacher, principal, university president

xiàozhǎng (fourth tone, falling)xiao4zhang3

Traditional: 校長

headteacher, principal, university president

HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)nounMeasure word 位Measure word 个
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Meanings

  1. headteacher, principal, university president

    The head of a school, at any level — the word covers a primary head and a university president alike. 长 here is read zhǎng, "chief", not cháng "long"; the same 长 makes 部长 a minister and 家长 a parent.

    noun

Character breakdown

  • 校
    xiào (fourth tone, falling) jiào (fourth tone, falling)

    school; (jiào) to check against an original, to proofread, to collate

    10 strokes⿰木交Radical 木
  • 长長
    cháng (second tone, rising) zhǎng (third tone, dipping)

    (cháng) long; length; (zhǎng) to grow, to develop; elder, senior; the head of an organisation

    4 strokesRadical 長

Example sentences

  • 校长今天要跟我们说话。校長今天要跟我們說話。Xiàozhǎng (fourth tone, falling) jīntiān (first tone, high and level) yào (fourth tone, falling) gēn (first tone, high and level) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) shuōhuà. (first tone, high and level)···

    The head is going to speak to us today.

  • 这位是我们学校的校长。這位是我們學校的校長。Zhè (fourth tone, falling) wèi (fourth tone, falling) shì (fourth tone, falling) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) xuéxiào (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) xiàozhǎng. (fourth tone, falling)···

    This is the head of our school.

Common mistakes

  • Not quite他是我们学校的经理。

    Correct他是我们学校的校长。

    经理 runs a business. Schools, hospitals and government offices each have their own title, and a school’s is 校长. Using 经理 for a headteacher sounds as odd as calling a head "the branch manager".

Similar words

Words containing 校

Words containing 长