包抄 (bāo chāo) — to outflank; to envelop (the enemy) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to outflankto envelop (the enemy)

Examples

包抄。
Wǒ jūn cóng liǎng cè bāo chāo dí rén.
Our army outflanked the enemy from both sides.
包抄。
Tā men jì huà zài lí míng qián wán chéng bāo chāo.
They planned to complete the envelopment before dawn.
包抄。
Zhǐ huī guān mìng lìng bù duì xùn sù bāo chāo.
The commander ordered the troops to outflank quickly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

包bāosurround

包 means to surround and 抄 means to flank, together describing an enveloping move.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌少抄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo抄chāo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

抄 combines 扌 (hand) with 少, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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