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后盾 (hòu dùn) — support, backing (a reliable source of help or protection)

Definition

后盾 names the thing that backs you up — a country, a person, or a resource standing behind you as protection. Unlike 支持 (an active verb 'to support'), 后盾 is the noun for that reliable supporter itself.

noun
supportbacking (a reliable source of help or protection)

Examples

  • 后盾，。
    Yǒu guó jiā zuò hòu dùn, rén mín cái néng ān jū lè yè.
    Only with the country as backing can people live and work in peace.
  • ，后盾。
    Wú lùn yù dào shén me kùn nan, péng you jiù shì nǐ de hòu dùn.
    No matter what difficulties you encounter, friends are your backing.
  • 后盾。
    Zhè bǐ zī jīn shì gōng sī kuò zhǎn yè wù de jiān shí hòu dùn.
    This fund is the solid backing for the company's business expansion.

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.

后hòubehind
盾dùnshield

盾 shield placed 后 behind means dependable backing.

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 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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

盾 originally drew a shield, so the shape is a picture of that object.

Open 盾 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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