军阀 (jūn fá) — warlord; military clique

Definition

noun

warlordmilitary clique

Examples

，军阀。
Mín guó shí qī, běi fāng yǒu xǔ duō jūn fá.
During the Republic of China period, there were many warlords in the north.
军阀。
Zhè xiē jūn fá wèi le zhēng duó dì pán ér bú duàn dǎ zhàng.
These warlords constantly fought to grab territory.
军阀。
Tā shì yí wèi zhù míng de jūn fá shǒu lǐng.
He was a famous warlord leader.

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jūnmilitary

阀fápowerful person

军 (military) + 阀 (powerful person) names a military ruler.

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 →

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 閥; 阀 is its simplified writing.

門伐閥

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門mén

Sound part声符shēngfú

伐

伐fá閥fá

Same sound today

The traditional form 閥 combines 門, a gate, with 伐 to give the sound; the simplified 阀 is a later shorthand.

Open 阀 →