壮丁 (zhuàng dīng) — able-bodied man (especially one subject to conscription or forced labor); strong, physically capable man

Definition

Refers to an able-bodied man, with a historical edge: in Republican-era and wartime Chinese it specifically meant men subject to conscription or forced labor, not just any strong male.

noun
able-bodied man (especially one subject to conscription or forced labor)strongphysically capable man
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，壮丁。
    Zhàn zhēng shí qī, hěn duō zhuàng dīng bèi zhēng qù dāng bīng.
    During wartime, many able-bodied men were conscripted into the army.
  • 壮丁。
    Cūn lǐ suǒ yǒu de zhuàng dīng dōu qù xiū lù le.
    All the able-bodied men in the village went to repair the road.
  • ，壮丁。
    Tā cháng dé gāo dà jiē shi, shì gè biāo zhǔn de zhuàng dīng.
    He is tall and sturdy, a textbook able-bodied man.

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.

壮zhuàngstrong
丁dīngadult male

壮 describes a strong, able-bodied 丁, an adult male counted for service.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壯; 壮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
士士shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán壯zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壯 uses 士 to hint at the meaning and 爿 for the sound; the simplified 壮 is a later abbreviation.

Open 壮 →

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

Open 丁 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.