兵变 (bīng biàn) — mutiny

Definition

mutiny
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 兵变。
    Nà zhī bù duì bīng biàn le.
    That troop mutinied.
  • 兵变。
    Zhè cì bīng biàn hěn kuài bèi zhèn yā xià qù le.
    This mutiny was quickly suppressed.
  • 兵变。
    Yǒu rén àn zhōng cè huà le yí cì bīng biàn.
    Someone secretly planned a mutiny.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

兵bīngsoldiers
变biànchange

兵 means soldiers and 变 means a sudden change or rebellion, giving the sense of soldiers turning against their superiors.

Characters in this word

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

  • 斤斤jīna short axe
  • 廾廾gǒng2 hands

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

Open 兵 →

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 變; 变 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌變biàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 變 uses 䜌 as a sound part and 攴 as a meaning part.

Open 变 →

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