勤务兵 (qín wù bīng) — military orderly

Definition

勤务兵 is a military orderly — an enlisted soldier assigned to attend an officer's personal needs and daily tasks.

noun

military orderly

Measure word · 个

勤务兵。
Nà wèi jiāng jūn shēn biān gēn zhe yì míng qín wù bīng.
An orderly follows that general around.
，勤务兵。
Zài jiù shì jūn duì zhōng, qín wù bīng fù zé zhào gù zhǎng guān de shēng huó.
In old-style armies, orderlies were responsible for taking care of officers' daily lives.
勤务兵。
Tā gāng rù wǔ shí bèi fēn pèi qù dāng qín wù bīng.
When he first enlisted, he was assigned to be an orderly.

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.

勤务duty service

勤qíndiligent务wùaffairs

偏正Modifier + head

勤 (diligent) and 务 (affairs) make 勤务, while 兵 (soldier) names the person handling those duties.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

敄

敄wù務wù

Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

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

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