Kilo Lingo

(guàn jūn) - champion, first place, title in Mandarin

guànjūn

Traditional: 冠軍

#2149 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

champion, first place, title

Word origin

A compound of 冠 (guàn, to crown, to head a list) and 军 (jūn, army), from an old title for the officer who led the army.

Origin
compound
Root
冠 (guàn, to crown) + 军 (jūn, army)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 冠

Stroke order for 军

Examples

guān

They won this year's championship.

guān

Our team were last year's champions.

guān

She is the world swimming champion.

guān

The winner of this competition has not been decided yet.

guān

He has wanted to be a champion since he was small.

冠军 (guàn jūn) is the winner: the champion of a competition, or the first place itself. 得冠军 (dé guàn jūn) and 拿冠军 (ná guàn jūn) both mean to take the title.

It sits at the top of a small set worth learning together: 冠军 (guàn jūn) first, 亚军 (yà jūn) second, 季军 (jì jūn) third. Sports commentary and school sports days lean on all three.

Watch the tone on the first syllable. 冠 is guàn in fourth tone here, but guān in first tone when it means a hat or a crown, as in 皇冠 (huáng guān). Getting it wrong is a common giveaway, and the tone is the only thing separating the two readings.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

冠军: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "冠军" (champion, first place, title): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 43.