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战前 (zhàn qián) — prewar period; the time before a war

Definition

noun
prewar periodthe time before a war

Examples

  • 战前。
    zhàn qián Zhè ge chéng shì hěn fán róng.
    Before the war, this city was very prosperous.
  • 战前。
    Zhè xiē jiàn zhù dōu shì zhàn qián jiàn de.
    These buildings were all built before the war.
  • 战前。
    zhàn qián Hé zhàn hòu de qíng kuàng wán quán bù tóng.
    The situation before and after the war is completely different.

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zhànwar
前qiánbefore

战 names the war, and 前 marks the time before it, giving prewar.

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 →

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

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Open 前 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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