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抄袭 (chāo xí) — to plagiarize, to copy (someone else's work); (military) to attack the flank or rear of an enemy

Definition

抄袭 means to plagiarize — copying someone else's work (writing, design, etc.) and passing it off as your own. It's stronger and more judgemental than 模仿 (mimicking a style) or 复制 (neutral duplicating); collocates with 论文, 作品, 设计.

verb
to plagiarizeto copy (someone else's work)(military) to attack the flank or rear of an enemy

Examples

  • 抄袭。
    Zhè piān lùn wén bèi chá chū chāo xí le tā rén yán jiū chéng guǒ.
    This paper was found to have plagiarized others' research results.
  • 抄袭。
    Tā men gōng sī yīn chāo xí jìng zhēng duì shǒu de shè jì ér bèi gào shàng fǎ tíng.
    Their company was sued for copying a competitor's design.
  • 抄袭。
    Zhǐ huī guān xià lìng bù duì chāo xí dí rén hòu fāng.
    The commander ordered the troops to attack the enemy's rear.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

抄chāocopy
袭xítake over

抄袭 joins 抄, to copy, with 袭, to take over or attack, giving the sense of copying work or striking unexpectedly.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo抄chāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

抄 combines 扌 (hand) with 少, which supplies the sound.

Open 抄 →

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 襲; 袭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīcloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
龖
龖dá襲xí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 襲, 衣 shows cloth and 龖 gives the sound; the simplified 袭 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical components.

Open 袭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & PoliceReading & Writing

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