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上阵 (shàng zhèn) — (figurative) to pitch into a task, to take on a challenge personally; (literal) to go into battle

Definition

Originally a military term meaning 'to go into battle'; now mostly used figuratively to mean rolling up one's sleeves and pitching in personally to tackle a task.

verb
(figurative) to pitch into a task, to take on a challenge personally(literal) to go into battle

Examples

  • ，上阵。
    Zhè cì rèn wu hěn kùn nan, lǎo bǎn qīn zì shàng zhèn le.
    This task is very difficult; the boss personally took it on.
  • ，。
    Tā shàng guò jǐ cì zhèn, jīng yàn hěn fēng fù.
    He has been to the battlefield several times and is very experienced.
  • 。
    Zhàn shì men yǒng gǎn dì shàng zhèn shā dí.
    The soldiers bravely went into battle to fight the enemy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shànggo onto
阵zhènbattle formation

上 means to go onto, and 阵 refers to the battle formation; together they picture entering battle.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陣; 阵 is its simplified writing.

  • 東東dōngsack?
  • 東東dōng
  • 攴攴pū

In the traditional form 陣, a left-side part was added to a shortened 東; the older shape also used 攴. The simplified 阵 is a later shorthand.

Open 阵 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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