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侍卫 (shì wèi) — imperial bodyguard, palace guard

Definition

An imperial or palace bodyguard — a personal guard serving the emperor or a high official in a historical/court setting, not a modern security guard.

noun
imperial bodyguardpalace guard
Measure word · 名

Examples

  • 侍卫。
    Huáng gōng lǐ de shì wèi rì yè shǒu hù zhe huáng dì de ān quán.
    The palace guards protect the emperor day and night.
  • 侍卫，。
    Zhè wèi shì wèi shēn shǒu mǐn jié, céng duō cì jī tuì cì kè.
    This bodyguard was agile and had repelled assassins many times.
  • 侍卫，。
    Xiǎo shuō zhōng de shì wèi zhōng chéng yǒng gǎn, lìng rén jìng pèi.
    The bodyguard in the novel is loyal and brave, worthy of admiration.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

侍shìserve
卫wèiguard

侍 (serve) and 卫 (guard) together name an attendant guard.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì侍shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

侍 has 人 (person) paired with 寺, which gives the sound.

Open 侍 →

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 衛; 卫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi衛wèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 衛 is built from 行 as the sense part and 韋 as the sound part; the simplified 卫 is a shorthand.

Open 卫 →
Appears in
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