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行刺 (xíng cì) — assassinate

Definition

行刺 (xíng cì) means to assassinate a specific person, usually a political or public figure, with a planned attack. The verb is transitive — it takes the target as its object (行刺总统).

verb
assassinate

Examples

  • 。
    Yǒu rén mì móu zài yàn huì shàng xíng cì guó wáng.
    Someone plotted to assassinate the king at the banquet.
  • 行刺。
    Cì kè cáng shēn wū dǐng zhǔn bèi xíng cì.
    The assassin hid on the rooftop, ready to assassinate.
  • 行刺。
    Zhè cì xíng cì xíng dòng zuì zhōng shī bài le.
    This assassination attempt ultimately failed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

行xíngcarry out
刺cìstab

行 'carry out' and 刺 'stab' combine to mean perform a stabbing, hence assassinate.

Characters in this word

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì刺cì
Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Open 刺 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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