后防 (hòu fáng) — rear defense, back line defense (in sports or military)

Definition

noun
rear defenseback line defense (in sports or military)

Examples

  • ，后防。
    Duì fāng de jìn gōng hěn qiáng, dàn wǒ men de hòu fáng fēi cháng wěn gù.
    The opponent's attack is strong, but our rear defense is very solid.
  • 后防，。
    Jiào liàn jué dìng jiā qiáng hòu fáng, pài shàng liǎng míng hòu wèi.
    The coach decided to strengthen the back line defense by sending in two defenders.
  • ，后防。
    Zài jūn shì xíng dòng zhōng, hòu fáng fù zé bǎo hù hòu qín jī dì.
    In military operations, the rear defense is responsible for protecting logistical bases.

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hòurear
防fángdefense

"后" gives the sense of rear or back, and "防" gives defense, so together they mean rear defense.

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng防fáng
Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

Open 防 →

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