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突袭 (tū xí) — to launch a surprise attack, to raid

Definition

突袭 (tūxí) means a fast, surprise attack — usually military or police, with the goal of catching the target off guard. Compare 袭击 (xíjí), a broader term for any attack, not necessarily a surprise.

verb
to launch a surprise attackto raid

Examples

  • 突袭。
    Dí rén chèn yè sè tū xí le wǒ men de yíng dì.
    The enemy launched a surprise attack on our camp under cover of night.
  • 突袭。
    Jǐng fāng zhǔn bèi líng chén tū xí fàn zuì wō diǎn.
    The police prepared to raid the criminal hideout in the early morning.
  • 突袭。
    Tā men de tū xí xíng dòng qǔ dé le chéng gōng.
    Their surprise attack operation was successful.

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.

突tūsudden
袭xíattack

突 'sudden' + 袭 'attack' gives a sudden, unexpected attack.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

突 shows 犬 (dog) under 穴 (cave; den), as a dog suddenly coming out of a den.

Open 突 →

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 襲; 袭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīcloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
龖
龖dá襲xí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 襲, 衣 shows cloth and 龖 gives the sound; the simplified 袭 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical components.

Open 袭 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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