劲敌 (jìng dí) — formidable adversary, strong opponent

Definition

A literary written term for a 'formidable opponent' — stronger and more rhetorically charged than everyday 敌人 or 对手, common in reports and commentary.

noun
formidable adversarystrong opponent
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 劲敌。
    Tā shì wǒ zài bǐ sài zhōng yù dào de zuì qiáng de jìng dí.
    He is the strongest opponent I've met in the competition.
  • 劲敌，。
    Miàn duì zhè yàng de jìng dí, wǒ men bù néng diào yǐ qīng xīn.
    Facing such a formidable adversary, we cannot let our guard down.
  • 劲敌。
    Zhè ge jìng dí de shí lì fēi cháng qiáng dà.
    This formidable opponent's strength is very great.

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.

劲jìnstrong
敌díenemy

“劲” means strong or formidable and “敌” means enemy, giving a powerful opponent.

Characters in this word

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 勁; 劲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng勁jìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勁 pairs 力, meaning strength, with 巠, which gives the sound; the simplified 劲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the original ones.

Open 劲 →

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto tap; to hit
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì敵dí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Open 敌 →

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