招兵 (zhāo bīng) — to recruit soldiers; to recruit new members (for an organization)

Definition

A separable verb ('招…兵') literally meaning to recruit soldiers, now also used for recruiting members into an organization or project. Note the split: 招兵买马 is a fixed idiom meaning to recruit staff / build a team.

verb
to recruit soldiersto recruit new members (for an organization)

Examples

  • 招兵。
    Bù duì jīn nián zhǔn bèi zhāo bīng.
    The military plans to recruit soldiers this year.
  • ，。
    Qù nián tā men zhāo le sān cì bīng, dàn rén shù hái shì bú gòu.
    They recruited soldiers three times last year, but the numbers were still insufficient.
  • ，招兵。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù gāng qǐ dòng, zhèng zài dào chù zhāo bīng.
    This project just launched and is recruiting members everywhere.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

招zhāorecruit
兵bīngsoldiers

招 means recruit and 兵 means soldiers, so 招兵 is to recruit soldiers.

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shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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

  • 斤斤jīna short axe
  • 廾廾gǒng2 hands

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

Open 兵 →

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