守城 (shǒu chéng) — to defend a city

Definition

A formal, written verb meaning 'to defend / hold a city (against attack)' — used in historical or military contexts, not everyday speech.

verb
to defend a city

Examples

  • 守城。
    Shì bīng men zhèng zài quán lì shǒu chéng.
    The soldiers are doing their best to defend the city.
  • ，。
    Tā men shǒu le sān tiān chéng, zhōng yú děng lái le yuán jūn.
    They defended the city for three days and finally reinforcements arrived.
  • 守城。
    shǒu chéng De jiāng jūn fēi cháng yǒng gǎn.
    The general defending the city is very brave.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

守shǒudefend
城chéngcity

'守' means defend and '城' means city, so together they mean defend a city.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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