How to Say "Principal" in Chinese

校长

xiàozhǎng

In Chinese, the English phrase "principal" (referring to a school administrator) is translated as 校长 (xiàozhǎng).

The term 校长 is used to refer to the head of a school. For example, you can use the phrase 谢谢校长 (xiè xiè xiào zhǎng) to say "Thank you, principal".

Meaning: chief administrator of a school (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word 校长 literally means "school head/chief", composed of 校 (school) and 长 (head/chief/leader).

While 校长 refers to the person who is the head of a school, the word 主要 (zhǔyào) is used when "principal" means "primary" or "main".

xiàozhǎng

In Chinese, the character 长 (zhǎng) used in 校长 means 'head' or 'leader', but it can also be pronounced 'cháng' to mean 'long'.
In many Chinese schools, students will address the principal simply as 校长 (xiào zhǎng) rather than using their surname, which is a common way to show respect to authority figures.
Unlike English, where 'principal' and 'principle' are homophones, the Chinese terms for 'head' 校长 and 'principle' 原则 (yuánzé) sound nothing alike.

我校校长很老了。
Our school's principal is very old.
This sentence is useful for describing a school's principal using 校长.
Tatoeba #1468435 by sadhen, translation #426384 by CM
校长想跟你谈话。
The principal wants to talk to you.
This sentence shows how to express that the principal wants to speak with someone using 校长.
Tatoeba #5555771 by verdastelo9604, translation #1358628 by CK
校长向每个毕业生颁发了毕业证书。
The principal presented each of the graduates with diploma.
This sentence illustrates a principal presenting diplomas using 校长.
Tatoeba #599697 by baisong, translation #240903 by CK
今天校长检查了学生的作业。
Today, the principal inspected the students' homework.
请问校长什么时候有空？
May I ask when the principal is available?
校长对学生的进步感到骄傲。
The principal is proud of the students' progress.
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Two students are talking in the school hallway.

佳怡 Jiayi

浩然，你知道校长在哪儿吗？
Hàorán, nǐ zhīdào xiàozhǎng zài nǎr ma?
Haoran, do you know where the principal is?
浩然 Haoran

他在他的办公室里。
Tā zài tā de bàngōngshì lǐ.
He is in his office.
佳怡 Jiayi

我想问校长一个问题。
Wǒ xiǎng wèn xiàozhǎng yī gè wèntí.
I want to ask the principal a question.
浩然 Haoran

那你快去吧，佳怡。
Nà nǐ kuài qù ba, Jiāyí.
Then go quickly, Jiayi.

Sources

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