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燃烧弹 (rán shāo dàn) — incendiary bomb, firebomb, napalm bomb

Definition

noun
incendiary bombfirebombnapalm bomb
Measure word · 枚

Examples

  • 燃烧弹。
    Zhàn zhēng zhōng shǐ yòng le dà liàng de rán shāo dàn.
    A large number of incendiary bombs were used in the war.
  • 燃烧弹，。
    rán shāo dàn De wēi lì fēi cháng dà, kě yǐ shāo huǐ zhěng zuò chéng shì.
    The power of an incendiary bomb is enormous; it can burn down an entire city.
  • 燃烧弹，。
    Jūn duì tóu xià le jǐ méi rán shāo dàn, mù biāo qū yù shùn jiān qǐ huǒ.
    The army dropped several incendiary bombs, and the target area caught fire instantly.

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.

燃烧burning
燃ránburn烧shāoburn
联合Coordinate
弹tánbomb

燃 and 烧 both give the burning sense, while 弹 gives the bomb sense, making a bomb designed to burn.

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
然
然rán燃rán
Same sound today

燃 adds 火 (fire) to 然 to write “burn”; 然 supplied the sound, and 火 was added to make the fire meaning clear.

Open 燃 →

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 燒; 烧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo燒shāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 燒 pairs 火 (fire) with 堯, which supplies the sound; the simplified 烧 is a shorthand.

Open 烧 →

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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