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戒严令 (jiè yán lìng) — martial law decree

Definition

A formal, official noun for a government order that imposes martial law — the document or decree itself, not the state of being under it. Pair it with 解除 ('lift') or 宣布 ('announce'), as in the examples.

noun
martial law decree
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 戒严令。
    Zhèng fǔ xuān bù le jiè yán lìng.
    The government announced a martial law decree.
  • 戒严令。
    Zhè ge jiè yán lìng yǐ jīng jiě chú le.
    This martial law decree has been lifted.
  • 戒严令，。
    Zài jiè yán lìng qī jiān, rén men bù néng suí yì chū mén.
    During the martial law decree, people cannot go out freely.

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.

戒严guard strictly
戒jièguard; restrain严yánstrict
补充Verb + complement
令lìngdecree

戒严 pictures strict guarding, and 令 is a decree, together naming a martial law order.

Characters in this word

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

  • 戈戈gēhalberd
  • 廾廾gǒnghands

戒 shows 廾 (hands) and 戈 (a halberd) together: hands holding up a weapon as a warning.

Open 戒 →

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 嚴; 严 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
喦喦yántalkative
Sound part声符shēngfú
敢
敢gǎn嚴yán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嚴 combines 喦 (talkative) and 敢 (daring); the simplified 严 is a later shorthand.

Open 严 →

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 →
Appears in
Government & PoliticsMilitary & Defense

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