入伍 (rù wǔ) — to enlist in the military; to join the army | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal term meaning to enlist or join the military, typically used in official or written contexts. The everyday spoken form is 参军.

verb

to enlist in the militaryto join the army

Examples

入伍。
Tā shí bā suì nà nián rù wǔ le.
He enlisted in the military at the age of eighteen.
，。
Wǒ gē qù nián rù le wǔ, xiàn zài zài bù duì dāng bīng.
My brother enlisted last year and is now serving in the army.
入伍。
Tā cóng rù wǔ dào tuì wǔ yí gòng guò le wǔ nián.
From his enlistment to his discharge, a total of five years passed.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

伍wǔmilitary ranks

“入” means enter, “伍” means the military ranks, together meaning to enter the army.

Characters in this word

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

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

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

亻五伍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

五

五wǔ伍wǔ

Same sound today

伍 is written with 亻, a person, and 五, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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