将令 (jiàng lìng) — military command, order (from a general)

Definition

A formal, military term for an 'order from a general.' Largely confined to historical or war narratives; in modern speech, 命令 or 指令 are used instead.

noun
military commandorder (from a general)
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 将令，。
    Jiāng jūn yī shēng jiàng lìng, shì bīng men lì kè chū fā.
    At the general's command, the soldiers set off immediately.
  • 将令，。
    Wéi kàng jiàng lìng zhě, àn jūn fǎ chǔ zhì.
    Those who disobey military orders will be dealt with according to military law.
  • 将令。
    Tā jiē dào jiàng lìng hòu lián yè gǎn wǎng qián xiàn.
    After receiving the command, he rushed to the front line overnight.

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.

将jiānggeneral
令lìngorder

将 is a general and 令 is an order, meaning a general's command.

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 將; 将 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán將jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 將 combines 爿, which also supplies a sound and may show a small table, with ⺼ (meat) and 寸 (hand) to picture offering meat as tribute. The simplified 将 is a later shorthand.

Open 将 →

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

  • 亼亼jí
  • 卩卩jié

In 令, the upper 亼 is an open mouth and the lower 卩 is a kneeling person, together showing someone giving orders.

Open 令 →

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