参战 (cān zhàn) — to take part in war, to participate in combat

Definition

Formal verb meaning 'to enter / join a war' — used for countries or organized forces, not for individual soldiers. Compare 加入 (join any group) vs 参加 (participate in activities); 参战 is reserved specifically for armed conflict.

verb

to take part in warto participate in combat

Examples

，。
Tā cān guò zhàn, zhī dào zhàn zhēng de kě pà.
He has been to war and knows the horror of war.
参战。
Zhè ge guó jiā jué dìng cān zhàn.
This country decided to enter the war.
参战。
Xǔ duō guó jiā dōu cān zhàn le.
Many countries have all entered the war.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

参cāntake part

战zhànwar

参 means take part and 战 means war, so the action is to take part in war.

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 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

晶晶jīngstars
光光guānglight; brightness
彡彡shānlight rays

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →

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

占戈战

Meaning part形符xíngfú

戈戈gē

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →

Appears in