战俘 (zhàn fú) — prisoner of war (POW)

Definition

noun
prisoner of war (POW)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 战俘
    Zhàn zhēng zhōng, shuāng fāng dōu fú lǔ le dà liàng zhàn fú.
    During the war, both sides captured a large number of prisoners of war.
  • 战俘
    Guó jì fǎ guī dìng bì xū shàn dài zhàn fú.
    International law stipulates that prisoners of war must be treated well.
  • 战俘
    Liǎng guó jiāo huàn le suǒ yǒu zhàn fú, zhàn zhēng zhōng yú jié shù le.
    The two countries exchanged all prisoners of war, and the war finally ended.

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.

zhànwar/battle
captive

战 refers to war and 俘 to a captive, so the meaning is someone captured 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
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhànzhàn
Same sound today

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

Open 战 →

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
rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

俘 combines 人 (person) with 孚, the earlier form for “to capture,” to show a captured person.

Open 俘 →

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