常备军 (cháng bèi jūn) — standing army

Definition

noun
standing army
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 常备军。
    Zhè ge guó jiā yōng yǒu yì zhī qiáng dà de cháng bèi jūn.
    This country has a powerful standing army.
  • 常备军。
    cháng bèi jūn De guī mó hé zhuāng bèi jué dìng le guó fáng néng lì.
    The size and equipment of the standing army determine national defense capability.
  • 常备军。
    Xǔ duō guó jiā zài hé píng shí qī yě bǎo chí yì zhī cháng bèi jūn.
    Many countries maintain a standing army even in peacetime.

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.

常备kept ready
常chángregular备bèikeep ready
偏正Modifier + head
军jūnarmy

常备 means kept ready all the time, and 军 is an army.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng常cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

常 pairs 巾, a cloth, with 尚 as a sound part; the form originally referred to a lower garment.

Open 常 →

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 備; 备 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 備 shows a person carrying a quiver, matching the meaning 'ready; prepared'; the simplified 备 is a later abbreviation.

Open 备 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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