敌机 (dí jī) — enemy plane; enemy aircraft

Definition

noun

enemy planeenemy aircraft

Measure word · 架

敌机。
Yí jià dí jī zài kōng zhōng pán xuán.
An enemy plane was circling in the sky.
敌机。
Tā men chéng gōng jī luò le liǎng jià dí jī.
They successfully shot down two enemy planes.
敌机。
Léi dá shàng xiǎn shì yǒu yí jià dí jī zhèng zài jiē jìn.
The radar shows an enemy plane is approaching.

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.

机jīaircraft

敌 (enemy) specifies the kind of 机 (aircraft), giving enemy plane.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto tap; to hit

Sound part声符shēngfú

啻

啻chì敵dí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in