义军 (yì jūn) — righteous army; volunteer army fighting for a just cause (often used in historical contexts)

Definition

义军 (yì jūn) is a historical term for a volunteer army fighting for a just cause or against tyranny, often used in classical and historical narratives. The emphasis is on moral righteousness rather than just 'volunteer.'

noun
righteous armyvolunteer army fighting for a just cause (often used in historical contexts)
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 义军。
    Zhè zhī yì jūn wèi le zhèng yì ér zhàn.
    This righteous army fought for justice.
  • 义军。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō zhī yì jūn fǎn kàng bào zhèng.
    There have been many righteous armies in history that resisted tyranny.
  • 义军，。
    Tā men jiā rù yì jūn, xī wàng néng gǎi biàn xiàn zhuàng.
    They joined the righteous army, hoping to change the situation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

义yìrighteous
军jūnarmy

An army described as 义, righteous or just, is a volunteer force fighting for a just cause.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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