魁 (kuí): chief

Meanings

1 chief
2 head
3 leader
4 outstanding
5 tall and powerfully built

Characters

魁

kuí

chief / head / outstanding / stalwart

Examples

HSK 5

他是这次竞赛的魁首。

Tā shì zhè cì jìngsài de kuíshǒu.

He was the top achiever in this competition.

HSK 7-9

此人身形魁梧，气势不凡。

Cǐ rén shēnxíng kuíwú, qìshì bùfán.

This person has a tall, powerful build and an extraordinary presence.

Tips

usage

魁 is primarily a classical or literary character. It appears in compound words: 魁首 (number one / top person), 魁梧 (tall and sturdy), and 魁北克 (Quebec).

Components

radical

鬼 guǐ

ghost; spirit

鬼 (ghost) is the indexing radical and supplies imposing presence. A 魁 is the chief, the head, the largest of its kind - originally a ladle big enough for a giant. The ghost radical lends an aura of dominating size. Compare 魅，魂，魄.

semantic

斗 dǒu

dipper; measuring scoop

斗 (dipper) on the right is also semantic, not just phonetic. The earliest sense of 魁 was the bowl of the Big Dipper constellation (北斗魁) - the ladle-head of the seven stars. 斗 supplies the dipper image directly. The meaning then generalised from constellation-head to any chief.