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兵法 (bīng fǎ) — (noun) the art of war; military strategy and tactics

Definition

兵法 (bīngfǎ) means the 'art of war' — strategy and tactics, as a field of study. Most often used for classical works like 《孙子兵法》, and metaphorically in business and competition contexts.

noun
the art of warmilitary strategy and tactics

Examples

  • 兵法。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xǐ huan yán jiū gǔ dài bīng fǎ.
    He has loved studying ancient military strategy since childhood.
  • 《兵法》。
    《Sūn zǐ bīng fǎ》 zhì jīn réng bèi xǔ duō qǐ yè jiā fèng wéi jīng diǎn.
    Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' is still regarded as a classic by many entrepreneurs.
  • ，兵法。
    Shāng chǎng rú zhàn chǎng, dǒng de bīng fǎ cái néng lì yú bú bài zhī dì.
    The marketplace is like a battlefield; only those who understand strategy can remain undefeated.

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.

兵bīngsoldiers
法fǎmethod

兵 refers to soldiers or war and 法 to methods or rules, so together they mean the rules and methods of warfare.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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