护林 (hù lín) — to protect a forest; forest protection

Definition

A verb-noun compound: 护 'protect' + 林 'forest'. Used as an activity or policy ('forest protection', 'forest patrol') rather than for one-off actions; 护林员 = forest ranger.

verb
to protect a forestforest protection

Examples

  • 护林
    Tā dāng hù lín yuán yǐ jīng èr shí nián le.
    He has been a forest ranger for twenty years.
  • Qù nián tā hù guò sān cì lín, měi cì bàn gè yuè.
    He did forest patrol three times last year, half a month each time.
  • 护林
    Zhè piàn shān qū xū yào cháng qī hù lín, fáng zhǐ huǒ zāi.
    This mountainous area requires long-term forest protection to prevent fires.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

protect
línforest

护 means protect and 林 means forest, so the action is protecting a forest.

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
Written in full asshǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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

林 is made of two 木 (tree) placed side by side, showing many trees together, hence a forest.

Open 林 →

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