飞虎队 (fēi hǔ duì) — (historical) Flying Tigers (US volunteer airmen in China during WWII); (Hong Kong) Special Duties Unit, an elite police tactical unit

Definition

A proper name for two different elite units: the WWII US volunteer "Flying Tigers" pilots in China, and Hong Kong's police Special Duties Unit. Pronounced fēi hǔ duì, used only as a name — not a generic term.

noun
(historical) Flying Tigers (US volunteer airmen in China during WWII)(Hong Kong) Special Duties Unitan elite police tactical unit
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • ，飞虎队。
    Èr zhàn qī jiān, fēi hǔ duì zài zhōng guó fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    During WWII, the Flying Tigers were very famous in China.
  • 飞虎队。
    Xiāng gǎng fēi hǔ duì shì chǔ lǐ gāo wēi àn jiàn de jīng yīng bù duì.
    Hong Kong's Flying Tigers are an elite unit that handles high-risk cases.
  • 飞虎队。
    Hěn duō diàn yǐng dōu pāi guò fēi hǔ duì de gù shi.
    Many movies have told stories about the Flying Tigers.

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.

飞虎flying tiger
飞fēifly虎hǔtiger
偏正Modifier + head
队duìteam

飞虎 gives flying tigers, and 队 gives a team, naming the Flying Tigers unit.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Open 虎 →

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 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒸
㒸㒸隊duì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.

Open 队 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.