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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

名列前茅

/miŋ³⁵ li̯ɛ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ mɑʊ̯³⁵/
to rank among the best
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    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    The phrase 名列前茅 is composed of the characters 名 (name), 列 (to tear apart; to break up; to separate; to split), 前 (front; forepart), and 茅 (cogon grass). The character 名 is formed with the components 夕 (night; evening; dusk) and 口 (mouth). The character 列 contains the components 歹 (bone remnants), 刀 (knife; blade), and the phonetic component 𡿪. The character 前 is composed of 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat).

    In the character 茅, the component 艸 (grass) provides the meaning, while 矛 (spear; lance) serves as the phonetic component. According to the MOE Dictionary, 前茅 refers to the cogon grass that soldiers carried as flags while marching or fighting in ancient times. The phrase serves as a metaphor for a ranking that is positioned at the front.

    Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

    這個詞由「名」、「列」、「前」、「茅」四個字組成。「名」由「夕」（夜晚、黃昏）與「口」（嘴巴）組成；「列」包含「歹」（骨骸殘骸）、「刀」（刀、刀刃）以及作為音符的「𡿪」；「前」由「止」（腳）與「舟」（船）組成；「茅」則由表示草類的「艸」與作為音符的「矛」（矛、槍）組成，指一種常用作茅草的茅草。

    根據《國語辭典》的解釋，「前茅」是指古代行軍打仗時，走在最前面的士兵所拿著作為旗幟的茅草。因此，「名列前茅」是用來比喻名次排在最前面的位置。

    Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

    Lineage

    • characterChinese名 “name”
      • ideaChinese夕 “night; evening; dusk”
      • ideaChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
    • characterChinese列 “to tear apart; to break up; to separate; to split”
      • ideaChinese歹 “bone remnants”
      • soundChinese𡿪
      • ideaChinese刀 “knife; blade (Classifier: 把 m c g h j mb md w x; 張／张 c h; 叢／丛 mn; 支 mn mn-t)”
    • characterChinese前 “front; forepart”
      • ideaChinese止 “foot”
      • ideaChinese舟 “boat (Classifier: 葉／叶; 艘; 條／条; 隻／只)”
    • characterChinese茅 “cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) (often used as thatch)”
      • meaningChinese艸 “grass”
      • soundChinese矛 “spear; lance”
    Wiktionary etymology text

    No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

    Meanings

    phrase
    1. to rank among the best

    國語辭典 definitions

    1. 前茅，古代行軍打仗時，前行兵士所拿作為旗幟的茅草。名列前茅比喻名次排在前面。 例：張同學非常優秀，各項成績在班上總是名列前茅。

    © Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

    Sources

    • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
    • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
    • Written form — n/a
    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0