哨兵 (shào bīng) — sentry, sentinel, guard (military) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sentrysentinelguard (military)

Measure word · 个

Examples

哨兵。
shào bīng Zhàn zài dà mén kǒu.
The sentry stood at the gate.
哨兵。
Zhǐ huī guān mìng lìng shào bīng huàn gǎng.
The commander ordered the sentry to change shifts.
，哨兵。
Yè jiān, shào bīng bì xū bǎo chí jǐng tì.
At night, sentries must remain vigilant.

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.

兵bīngsoldier

“哨” refers to sentry duty and “兵” to soldier, so a soldier posted as sentry.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

斤斤jīna short axe
廾廾gǒng2 hands

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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