退伍兵 (tuì wǔ bīng) — veteran (former soldier)

Definition

Literally 'retired-soldier soldier' — a colloquial term for a former soldier who has left the service, more everyday than the formal 老兵 or 退伍军人.

noun

veteran (former soldier)

Measure word · 个

Examples

退伍兵，。
Tā shì yì míng tuì wǔ bīng, tuì wǔ hòu kāi le yì jiā cān guǎn.
He is a veteran and opened a restaurant after retiring from the army.
，退伍兵。
Měi nián jiàn jūn jié, shì zhèng fǔ dōu huì wèi wèn lǎo tuì wǔ bīng.
Every year on Army Day, the city government pays respects to old veterans.
退伍兵。
Zhè bù jì lù piàn jiǎng shù le jǐ wèi tuì wǔ bīng de zhàn hòu shēng huó.
This documentary tells the post-war life of several veterans.

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.

退伍leave the ranks

退tuìwithdraw伍wǔranks

动宾Verb + object

兵bīngsoldier

退伍 means leaving the ranks, and 兵 means soldier; together they name a former soldier.

Characters in this word

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

皀皀jífood vessel
夊夊suīdownward foot

退 originally showed 皀, a food vessel, with 夊, a downward foot, for leaving the table after eating. In modern 退, the vessel part 皀 changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 退 →

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

亻五伍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

五

五wǔ伍wǔ

Same sound today

伍 is written with 亻, a person, and 五, which gives the sound.

Open 伍 →

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