进攻 (jìn gōng) — to attack, to go on the offensive

Definition

进攻 is the standard military/sports term for an organized offensive — sustained and strategic, unlike 袭击, which is a surprise raid. Verbal/figurative attack uses 攻击 or 抨击, not 进攻.

verb

to attackto go on the offensive

Examples

进攻。
Tā men zài líng chén jìn gōng.
They attacked at dawn.
进攻。
Duì fāng de qiú duì cóng yòu biān jìn gōng.
The opposing team attacked from the right side.
进攻。
Wǒ men jué dìng míng tiān zǎo shàng jìn gōng.
We decided to attack tomorrow morning.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

进jìnadvance

攻gōngattack

进 and 攻 are parallel actions, together meaning to advance against an opponent.

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 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

辵辵chuòwalk
隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

工攵攻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pūhand holding a tool or weapon

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng攻gōng

Same sound today

攻 puts 工, which gives the pronunciation, beside 攵, a hand holding a tool or weapon.

Open 攻 →

Appears in