救难 (jiù nán) — to rescue from danger or disaster, to help out of distress

Definition

A formal, written term for rescuing people from disaster or danger. Less common in everyday speech than 救 (jiù); often used in official, journalistic, or compound contexts like 救难队 'rescue team'.

verb
to rescue from danger or disaster, to help out of distress

Examples

  • 救难。
    Xiāo fáng yuán cóng huǒ chǎng zhōng jiù nán le hěn duō rén.
    The firefighters rescued many people from the fire scene.
  • 救难。
    Tā men mào zhe shēng mìng wēi xiǎn qù jiù nán.
    They risked their lives to go rescue people.
  • ，。
    Nà cì dì zhèn zhōng, tā men jiù le yí cì nán.
    During that earthquake, they carried out a rescue.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

救jiùrescue
难nándistress

救 (rescue) and 难 (distress) combine: the word means to rescue someone from distress.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú救jiù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →

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 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →

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