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军火库 (jūn huǒ kù) — arsenal

Definition

noun
arsenal
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 军火库。
    Zhè ge jūn huǒ kù lǐ cún fàng zhe dà liàng dàn yào.
    This arsenal stores a large amount of ammunition.
  • 军火库。
    Dí rén xí jī le chéng wài de jūn huǒ kù.
    The enemy attacked the arsenal outside the city.
  • 军火库。
    Qǐ yè de jì shù jūn huǒ kù shì qí hé xīn jìng zhēng lì.
    A company's technological arsenal is its core competitiveness.

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.

军火arms
军jūnmilitary火huǒfirearms
偏正Modifier + head
库kùwarehouse

军火 denotes arms, and 库 is a storage place, giving the sense of an arsenal.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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 庫; 库 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
車
車jū庫kù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 庫 pairs 广 (building) with 車 (sound); the building part points to a storehouse. The simplified 库 is a later shorthand.

Open 库 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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