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远征 (yuǎn zhēng) — expedition (long military or exploratory journey)

Definition

noun
expedition (long military or exploratory journey)
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 远征，。
    Zhè cì yuǎn zhēng cóng shàng hǎi chū fā, jīng guò le yí gè yuè de háng xíng dào dá le nán jí zhōu.
    This expedition set out from Shanghai and reached Antarctica after a month of sailing.
  • 远征。
    Gǔ dài ōu zhōu de yuǎn zhēng wǎng wǎng chōng mǎn le wèi zhī hé wēi xiǎn.
    Ancient European expeditions were often full of the unknown and danger.
  • ，远征。
    Wèi le xún zhǎo xīn de zī yuán, tā men jué dìng jìn xíng yí cì xīn de yuǎn zhēng.
    To find new resources, they decided to undertake a new expedition.

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.

远yuǎnfar
征zhēngcampaign

远 points to distance, and 征 means a campaign or journey, so the word names an expedition to a far place.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán远yuǎn
Same sound today

远 combines 辶, meaning walk, with 元, used for its sound.

Open 远 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 徵; 征 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 征 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (特征, 象征) it is 徵; in others it is 征.

The story is about the traditional form 徵. It originally meant punishment, from a picture of a knife with tooth-shaped protrusions on its back; later forms kept that sense.

Open 征 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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