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讨伐 (tǎo fá) — (military) to send a punitive expedition against; to suppress by force of arms; (figurative) to denounce; to crusade against (an injustice or wrongdoing)

Definition

Literary verb meaning to launch a military punitive expedition, or, figuratively, to denounce or crusade against wrongdoing. The concrete sense is mostly historical/literary; the figurative sense is the one learners will meet in modern writing.

verb
(military) to send a punitive expedition againstto suppress by force of arms(figurative) to denounceto crusade against (an injustice or wrongdoing)

Examples

  • 讨伐。
    Gǔ dài dì wáng cháng yǐ tǎo fá zhū hóu lái gǒng gù zì jǐ de tǒng zhì.
    Ancient emperors often sent punitive expeditions against feudal lords to consolidate their rule.
  • 讨伐。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng gōng kāi tǎo fá le dāng qián shè huì zhōng de fǔ bài xiàn xiàng.
    This article publicly denounces the corruption in current society.
  • ，讨伐。
    Rén mín fēn fēn fā shēng, tǎo fá nà xiē pò huài huán jìng de xíng wéi.
    People one after another spoke out to condemn those behaviors that damage the environment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

讨tǎopunish
伐fáattack

讨伐 brings 讨, punishing, and 伐, attacking, together as a forceful punitive action.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 討; 讨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
肘
肘zhǒu討tǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 討 pairs 言 (speech) with a shortened form of 肘 for sound; an old reading took 言 plus 寸 (hand) as 'rectify'. The simplified 讨 is a shorthand, so its parts are not historical components.

Open 讨 →

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

伐 combines 人 (person) and 戈 (spear), drawing a spear at a person's neck to show cutting or striking.

Open 伐 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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