校长
school principal; headmaster
HSK level
- Pinyin
- xiàozhǎng
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 14
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 位 / 个
Stroke order for 校长
校长 is written with 14 strokes (校: 10, 长: 4). The animation replays automatically.
What does 校长 mean?
校长 (xiàozhǎng) is the noun 'principal / headmaster / president (of a school).'
Built from 校 (school) + 长 (chief / head), literally 'school chief.' The same word covers a wide range of school leaders in Chinese: the principal of a primary or middle school, the headmaster of a high school, and the president of a university (北京大学校长 = president of Peking University). English splits these (principal vs. president vs.
headmaster); Chinese uses one term. As a form of address, 校长 functions like 老师 — call the person 校长 or 张校长 ('Principal Zhang') rather than using their name alone. Note that 长 here is pronounced zhǎng (chief), NOT cháng (long) — a common beginner mispronunciation. Same pattern appears in 班长 (class monitor), 部长 (minister), 队长 (team captain): X + 长 = 'chief of X.'
Note: Also used as a respectful title of address: 张校长 ('Principal Zhang'). When speaking directly to one, address them as 校长 alone, the same way you'd say '老师'.
Character by character
Memory hook: 校 (school) + 长 (chief) = school chief = principal. Remember 长 is zhǎng (chief), not cháng (long), in this word.
Example sentences
我们的校长姓张。
Wǒmen de xiàozhǎng xìng Zhāng.
Our principal's surname is Zhang.
neutral
校长好！
Xiàozhǎng hǎo!
Hello, Principal!
spoken, polite
校长今天有一个会。
Xiàozhǎng jīntiān yǒu yí gè huì.
The principal has a meeting today.
neutral
他想当大学校长。
Tā xiǎng dāng dàxué xiàozhǎng.
He wants to become a university president.
neutral
请到校长室来一下。
Qǐng dào xiàozhǎng shì lái yíxià.
Please come to the principal's office for a moment.
neutral
Common phrases with 校长
Synonyms
院长 is the head of an 院 — a college, school within a university, hospital, or similar institution (medical school dean, hospital director). 校长 is specifically the head of a 学校 (school) — primary through university.
Don't confuse 校长 with
学校 is 'school' (the institution/place). 校长 is the 'principal' (the person who runs it). 我去学校 = 'I'm going to school'; 我见校长 = 'I'm meeting the principal.'
长 is pronounced two ways: cháng ('long') and zhǎng ('chief / to grow'). In 校长, it's zhǎng. Don't say xiàocháng — it's wrong.
班长 is the 'class monitor' (a student leader). 校长 is the principal (a staff/leadership role). Both use 长 (zhǎng, chief), but 校长 is the adult administrator and 班长 is usually a student.
FAQ
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