猛扑 (měng pū) — to charge, to dash forward

Definition

verb
to chargeto dash forward

Examples

  • 猛扑。
    Lǎo hǔ xiàng liè wù měng pū guò qù.
    The tiger charged at its prey.
  • 猛扑。
    Zhàn shì men yǒng gǎn dì měng pū xiàng dí rén.
    The soldiers bravely charged toward the enemy.
  • 猛扑。
    Māo tū rán cóng cǎo cóng zhōng měng pū chū lái.
    The cat suddenly dashed out of the grass.

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.

猛měngfierce/sudden
扑pūpounce

猛 means fierce or sudden, and 扑 means pounce; a fierce pounce.

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
孟
孟mèng猛
Same sound today

猛 pairs 犬 (dog) with 孟, and 孟 gives the sound.

Open 猛 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ扑pū
Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

Open 扑 →

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