黑枪 (hēi qiāng) — sniper shot (a shot fired from a concealed position); illegal gun, unregistered firearm

Definition

黑枪 has two senses: an illegal or unregistered firearm (the common sense — e.g. 贩卖黑枪, 藏匿黑枪), and a sniper-style shot fired from a concealed position (放黑枪).

noun
sniper shot (a shot fired from a concealed position)illegal gununregistered firearm
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 黑枪，。
    Zhàn dòu zhōng yǒu rén fàng hēi qiāng, shuí yě bú què dìng cóng nǎ r dǎ lái de.
    During the battle, someone fired a sniper shot, and no one was sure where it came from.
  • 黑枪。
    Tā yīn wèi fàn mài hēi qiāng bèi pàn chǔ le wǔ nián yǒu qī tú xíng.
    He was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking illegal guns.
  • 黑枪。
    Jǐng fāng zài jiāo qū fā xiàn le yí gè cáng nì hēi qiāng de wō diǎn.
    The police discovered a hideout for stashing illegal firearms in the suburbs.

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.

黑hēiblack
枪qiānggun

黑 suggests hidden or illegal, and 枪 is the gun or shot.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →

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