派兵 (pài bīng) — to dispatch troops, to send troops

Definition

A formal, written phrase meaning 'to dispatch / send troops' — more official in tone than everyday 出兵 ('send in troops'). Often appears in news and military reports.

verb
to dispatch troopsto send troops

Examples

  • 派兵。
    Guó jiā jué dìng pài bīng zhī yuán lín guó.
    The country decided to dispatch troops to support the neighboring country.
  • 。
    Zuó tiān zhèng fǔ pài le liǎng qiān bīng qù zāi qū.
    Yesterday the government dispatched 2,000 troops to the disaster area.
  • 派兵。
    Tā zhǔ zhāng lì jí pài bīng kòng zhì jú shì.
    He advocated immediately dispatching troops to control the situation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

派pàisend
兵bīngsoldier

派 (send) moves 兵 (soldiers) out.

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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →

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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