元首
Chinese
primary; first; fundamental primary; first; fundamental; dollar; (dynasty) |
head; chief; first (occasion) head; chief; first (occasion); first (thing); measure word for poems | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (元首) |
元 | 首 | |
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): jyun4 sau2
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ngièn-sú / ngiàn-sú
- Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): goân-siú
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: yuánshǒu
- Zhuyin: ㄩㄢˊ ㄕㄡˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: yuánshǒu
- Wade–Giles: yüan2-shou3
- Yale: ywán-shǒu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yuanshoou
- Palladius: юаньшоу (juanʹšou)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɥɛn³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: jyun4 sau2
- Yale: yùhn sáu
- Cantonese Pinyin: jyn4 sau2
- Guangdong Romanization: yun4 seo2
- Sinological IPA (key): /jyːn²¹ sɐu̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngièn-sú
- Hakka Romanization System: ngienˇ suˋ
- Hagfa Pinyim: ngian2 su3
- Sinological IPA: /ŋi̯en¹¹ su³¹/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngiàn-sú
- Hakka Romanization System: ngianˇ suˋ
- Hagfa Pinyim: ngian2 su3
- Sinological IPA: /ŋi̯an¹¹ su³¹/
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: goân-siú
- Tâi-lô: guân-siú
- Phofsit Daibuun: goansiuo
- IPA (Xiamen): /ɡuan²⁴⁻²² siu⁵³/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡuan²⁴⁻²² siu⁵⁵⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡuan¹³⁻²² siu⁵³/
- IPA (Taipei): /ɡuan²⁴⁻¹¹ siu⁵³/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡuan²³⁻³³ siu⁴¹/
- (Hokkien)
- Middle Chinese: ngjwon syuwX
- Old Chinese
- (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ŋ]o[r] l̥uʔ/
- (Zhengzhang): /*ŋon hljuʔ/
Noun
元首
- head of state
- monarch; sovereign; king; ruler
- (Malaysia, specifically) Yang di-Pertuan Agong
- (Hong Kong, specifically, historical) the monarch; the personal embodiment of the Crown
- (Classical) beginning
- (Classical, literally) head
- (historical or Internet slang) Führer (the title of Adolf Hitler when he was the leader of Nazi Germany);
- (by extension, derogatory) a leader deemed as or like a tyrant or dictator, especially one with authoritarian or fascist tendancies
Synonyms
- 乘輿 / 乘舆 (literary, figurative)
- 人主 (rénzhǔ) (literary)
- 人君 (rénjūn) (literary)
- 人王 (rénwáng)
- 君上 (jūnshàng) (literary)
- 君主 (jūnzhǔ)
- 君父 (jūnfù) (literary)
- 君王 (jūnwáng)
- 國君 / 国君 (guójūn)
- 國家 / 国家 (guójiā) (Classical Chinese)
- 大聖 / 大圣 (dàshèng) (literary)
- 大駕 / 大驾 (dàjià)
- 天子 (tiānzǐ) (Son of Heaven)
- 官家 (guānjiā) (archaic)
- 帝王 (dìwáng)
- 皇帝 (huángdì)
- 皇辟 (huángbì) (archaic, Son of Heaven)
- (head):
Dialectal synonyms of 頭 (“head”) [map]
Japanese
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 元 | 首 |
| げん Grade: 2 |
しゅ Grade: 2 |
| kan'on | goon |
From Middle Chinese compound 元首 (MC ngjwon syuwX, literally “first, prime + head”).
Pronunciation
Noun
元首 • (genshu)
- head of state (the chief public representative of a nation), ruler, sovereign
Derived terms
- 元首政 (genshusei): the principate, a type of government in ancient Rome, established under Augustus Caesar
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 元 | 首 |
| もと Grade: 2 |
くび Grade: 2 |
| kun'yomi | |
Compound of 元 (moto, “origin, base”) + 首 (kubi, “neck, head”).[2]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [mo̞to̞kɯ̟bʲi]
Noun
元首 • (motokubi)
Usage notes
The kun'yomi reading of motokubi is rare for this term.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- “元首”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia][1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025
Korean
| Hanja in this term | |
|---|---|
| 元 | 首 |
Noun
元首 • (wonsu) (hangeul 원수)