轰击 (hōng jī) — to bombard (with artillery); to bombard (figuratively, with questions or criticism)

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to bombard' — used for both artillery attacks and figurative onslaughts of questions or criticism. Stronger and more written than 攻击 (gōngjī, the everyday 'to attack').

verb
to bombard (with artillery)to bombard (figuratively, with questions or criticism)

Examples

  • 轰击。
    Dí rén hōng jī le wǒ men de zhèn dì.
    The enemy bombarded our position.
  • 轰击。
    Jì zhě men yòng wèn tí hōng jī tā.
    The journalists bombarded him with questions.
  • 轰击。
    Tā men yòng pī píng hōng jī tā.
    They bombarded him with criticism.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

轰hōngbombard
击jīstrike

轰 (bombard) and 击 (strike) combine to mean attacking with artillery or heavy force.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 轟; 轰 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart
  • 車車jūcart
  • 車車jūcart

The traditional form 轟 puts three 車 (cart) together; 轰 is a simplified shorthand.

Open 轰 →

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 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
毄
毄jī擊jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

Open 击 →

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