侦察员 (zhēn chá yuán) — scout; reconnaissance personnel

Definition

noun
scoutreconnaissance personnel
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 侦察员。
    Zhè ge zhēn chá yuán shēn rù dí hòu shōu jí qíng bào.
    This scout went deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence.
  • 侦察员。
    Bù duì pài chū le liǎng míng zhēn chá yuán qián qù zhēn chá dì xíng.
    The unit dispatched two scouts to reconnoiter the terrain.
  • 侦察员。
    Tā shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de zhēn chá yuán.
    He is an experienced scout.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

侦察reconnoiter
侦zhēninvestigate察cháobserve
联合Side by side
员yuánperson

侦察 is to investigate, and 员 is the person who does it.

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 偵; 侦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
貞
貞zhēn偵zhēn
Same sound today

The traditional form 偵 pairs ⺅ (person) with 貞, which gives the sound and the idea of asking; the simplified 侦 is a later shorthand.

Open 侦 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì察chá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 察 combines 宀, a roof, with 祭 as the sound part.

Open 察 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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