TongTong
Sign in

禁毒 (jìn dú) — to ban drugs; drug prohibition (verb-object compound)

Definition

禁毒 is a verb-object compound meaning 'to ban drugs' or 'drug prohibition' — used as a formal, official term, especially in government and policy contexts (e.g., 禁毒工作).

verb
to ban drugsdrug prohibition (verb-object compound)

Examples

  • 禁毒。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài dà lì jìn dú.
    The government is vigorously banning drugs.
  • 。
    Tā men jìn le sān nián dú cái jiàn xiào.
    It took them three years of drug prohibition to see results.
  • 禁毒。
    jìn dú Gōng zuò fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Drug prohibition work is very important.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

禁jìnban/prohibit
毒dúdrugs

'禁' bans or prohibits, and '毒' refers to drugs, giving the idea of banning drugs.

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
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

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
屮屮chèvegetation
Sound part声符shēngfú
毐
毐ǎi毒dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Open 毒 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.