卧倒 (wò dǎo) — to lie flat; to assume a prone position; (comma…

Definition

A command or action meaning 'lie flat, drop to the ground', typically in military, tactical, or emergency situations (e.g. when shots are fired).

verb

to lie flatto assume a prone position(command) hit the deck

：“卧倒！”
Jiāng jūn dà shēng hǎn: "wò dǎo!"
The general shouted loudly: 'Hit the deck!'
，卧倒。
Tīng dào qiāng shēng, shì bīng men lì kè wò dǎo zài dì shàng.
Upon hearing gunshots, the soldiers immediately lay flat on the ground.
卧倒，。
Tā wò dǎo zài cǎo cóng lǐ, bú ràng rén fā xiàn.
He lay flat in the grass to avoid being found.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

倒dǎofall down

卧 means lie and 倒 adds falling down, giving lie flat.

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 臥; 卧 is its simplified writing.

臣人臥

The traditional form 臥 pairs 臣 (an eye pointing down) with 人 (a person).

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

亻到倒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

到

Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.