抗暴 (kàng bào) — to fight against tyranny, to resist oppression

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning to fight against tyranny or violent oppression. Usually appears in historical or political contexts about collective resistance, not casual use.

verb
to fight against tyrannyto resist oppression

Examples

  • 抗暴。
    Tā men jué xīn kàng bào dào dǐ.
    They are determined to fight against tyranny to the end.
  • 。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de rén mín kàng guò duō cì bào.
    The people of this country have resisted tyranny many times.
  • 抗暴。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō kàng bào de gù shi.
    There are many stories of resisting tyranny in history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抗kàngresist
暴bàoviolence

抗暴 uses 抗 resist and 暴 violence, meaning to oppose tyranny.

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
亢
亢kàng抗kàng
Same sound today

抗 is made from 扌, a written form of 手 (hand), and 亢, which gives the sound.

Open 抗 →

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

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

Open 暴 →

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