战争贩子 (zhàn zhēng fàn zǐ) — warmonger

Definition

A strongly negative, newspaper-style label for a person who profits from or pushes wars. Built from 战争 ('war') + 贩子 ('peddler/seller'), it emphasizes the self-interested motive behind warmongering.

noun
warmonger

Examples

  • 战争贩子，。
    Tā shì yí gè wú chǐ de zhàn zhēng fàn zǐ, wèi le lì yì fā dòng zhàn zhēng.
    He is a shameless warmonger who starts wars for profit.
  • 战争贩子。
    Lì shǐ shàng de zhàn zhēng fàn zǐ wǎng wǎng bèi rén mín tuò qì.
    Warmongers in history are often scorned by the people.
  • 战争贩子。
    Lián hé guó qiǎn zé gè bié zhàn zhēng fàn zǐ lì yòng chōng tū móu lì.
    The United Nations condemns individual warmongers who profit from conflicts.

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.

战争war
战zhànfight争zhēngstrive
联合Side by side
贩子dealer
贩fàntrade子zǐsuffix
后缀Suffix

战争 ('war') and 贩子 ('dealer') together mean someone who deals in war.

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
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn战zhàn
Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爭; 争 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爭 shows two hands on a plowshare; the simplified 争 is a later abbreviation, so this picture belongs to 爭, not 争.

Open 争 →

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 販; 贩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn販fàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 販 combines 貝, a cowry shell, with 反 as a sound part; the simplified 贩 is a shorthand and its right side is not a historical component.

Open 贩 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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