敲击 (qiāo jī) — to beat, to strike, to knock | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid verb for repeated percussive striking (drumming, tapping, knocking). Each character carries weight — 敲 focuses on the action of striking, 击 on the impact — so 敲击 sounds more literary than 敲 alone.

verb

to beatto striketo knock

Examples

敲击。
Tā qīng qīng de qiāo jī zhe zhuō zi.
He gently tapped the table.
敲击。
Tā yòng lì qiāo jī gǔ.
He beat the drum forcefully.
敲击。
Qǐng qiāo jī yí xià mén zài jìn lái.
Please knock on the door before coming in.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

击jīstrike

敲 means knock and 击 means strike; together they mean to beat or strike.

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.

高攴敲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto hit lightly; to tap

Sound part声符shēngfú

高

高gāo敲qiāo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

敲 combines 高, which supplies the sound, with 攴, meaning to hit lightly or tap.

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 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

毄

毄jī擊jī

Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

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