守势 (shǒu shì) — defensive position

Definition

noun
defensive position
Easily confused

Examples

  • 守势。
    Tā men cǎi qǔ le shǒu shì.
    They adopted a defensive position.
  • ，守势，。
    Zài bǐ sài zhōng, duì fāng suī rán yì zhí bǎo chí shǒu shì, dàn wǒ men hái shì huò shèng le.
    During the match, although the opponent kept a defensive position, we still won.
  • 守势，。
    Tā men cóng shǒu shì zhuǎn wéi jìn gōng, yíng dé le bǐ sài.
    They switched from defensive position to offense and won the match.

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.

守shǒudefend
势shìposture

守 (defend) joins with 势 (posture) to mean a defensive posture.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

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 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

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