活靶 (huó bǎ) — moving target (in shooting or military contexts); easy target (for criticism or blame, figurative)

Definition

活靶 (huóbǎ) literally means a 'living/moving target' — a target that moves on a battlefield, and by extension someone who becomes a convenient target for blame or criticism.

noun
moving target (in shooting or military contexts)easy target (for criticism or blame, figurative)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，活靶。
    Zài zhàn chǎng shàng, yí dòng de huó bǎ gèng nán jī zhòng.
    On the battlefield, moving targets are harder to hit.
  • 活靶。
    Tā yīn wèi shuō cuò huà chéng le dà jiā de huó bǎ.
    He became everyone's target for criticism because he said the wrong thing.
  • ，活靶。
    Xùn liàn shí, shì bīng men liàn xí shè jī huó bǎ.
    During training, the soldiers practiced shooting at moving targets.

Origin

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.

活huómoving
靶bǎtarget

“活” means moving or alive, and “靶” is target, giving a target that moves.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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
革革gé
Sound part声符shēngfú
巴
巴bā靶bǎ
Same sound today

靶 is made from 革, which relates to the meaning, and 巴, which gives the sound.

Open 靶 →

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