盟友 (méng yǒu) — ally | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

盟友 is an 'ally' — a country or person formally joined to another by treaty or shared goals, stronger and more political than 同伴 ('companion'). Distinct from 联盟 and 同盟, which name the alliance itself rather than its members.

noun

ally

Measure word · 个

Examples

，盟友。
Zài zhàn zhēng shí qī, hěn duō guó jiā biàn chéng le méng yǒu.
During wartime, many countries became allies.
盟友。
Tā zài gōng sī lǐ yǒu yí wèi kě kào de méng yǒu.
He has a reliable ally in the company.
，盟友。
Liǎng guó qiān shǔ le xié yì, chéng wéi zhèng shì méng yǒu.
The two countries signed an agreement and became formal allies.

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.

盟méngalliance

The 盟 sense of alliance and the 友 sense of friend combine to mean an ally.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

皿

皿mǐn盟méng

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

盟 pairs 囧 with 皿, and 皿 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

又又友

又又yòu
又又yòu

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 International & Diplomacy

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