酋 (qiú) · tribal chief, chieftain, leader of bandits or enemies

Meanings

1 tribal chief
2 chieftain
3 leader of bandits or enemies

Characters

酋

qiú

chieftain; tribal chief

Examples

HSK 4

他是部落的酋长。

Tā shì bùluò de qiúzhǎng.

He is the tribal chieftain.

HSK 7-9

敌酋被押解到京城。

Díqiú bèi yājiě dào jīngchéng.

The enemy chief was escorted to the capital.

Tips

history

Originally 酋 meant 'aged/finished wine' (the radical 酉 is a wine vessel) and named the imperial wine officer 大酋 in 《吕氏春秋》. The semantic shift to 'tribal chieftain' came via the idea of 'eldest/most senior.' Modern usage is mostly in 酋长 (chieftain) and pejorative compounds like 匪酋 (bandit chief), 敌酋 (enemy leader).

memory

The radical 酉 (a wine jar) under the 'eight' lid 八 hints at the original 'mature wine' meaning. From there: just as wine is 'the elder of grapes,' the 酋 is the elder of the tribe.

Components

radical

酉 yǒu

wine vessel (Kangxi #164)

Lower 酉 - pictograph of a narrow-necked wine jar with dregs settled inside, the indexing radical here. Combined with the rising-vapor strokes on top, 酋 originally meant 'matured wine' and by ritual extension 'the elder who oversees the wine offering at clan ceremonies' - hence 'tribal chief, chieftain.'

ideograph

丷 bā

rising vapor; marker strokes

Two short splayed strokes at the top - an abstract indicator of upward release, visually similar to 八. They mark steam or aroma rising from the jar 酉 below, signalling 'aged wine' and giving 酋 its 'chief' sense (the elder who tends the ancestral wine). Historically an uncorked wine vessel.