夙敌 (sù dí) — long-standing enemy; sworn foe

Definition

A formal, literary term for an enemy of long standing — emphasizes the long history of the rivalry, not just current hostility. Use in writing about history or business; in everyday speech 敌人 or 对头 is more common.

noun
long-standing enemysworn foe
Easily confused

Examples

  • 夙敌，。
    Tā men liǎng gè yì zhí shì sù dí, zhēng dòu le jǐ shí nián.
    Those two have been long-standing enemies, fighting for decades.
  • ，夙敌。
    Zài shāng chǎng shàng, tā men shì duō nián de sù dí.
    In the business world, they are years-old archrivals.
  • 夙敌，。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu xǔ duō zhù míng de sù dí, tā men de gù shi liú chuán zhì jīn.
    There are many famous long-standing enemies in history, and their stories have been passed down to this day.

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.

夙sùlong-standing
敌díenemy

夙 “long-standing” + 敌 “enemy” means an enemy from long ago.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto tap; to hit
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì敵dí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Open 敌 →

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