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侵袭 (qīn xí) — to invade; to attack (of enemy, disease, wind, etc.)

Definition

Formal verb meaning 'to invade / attack and spread into' — used for enemies, disease, cold air, or anything that encroaches on a place or system. More literary and sustained than 侵略 (qīnlüè), which names a political/military act of aggression.

verb
to invadeto attack (of enemy, disease, wind, etc.)

Examples

  • 侵袭。
    Hán liú qīn xí le běi fāng dì qū.
    A cold wave attacked the northern region.
  • 侵袭。
    Zhè zhǒng bìng dú huì qīn xí rén de miǎn yì xì tǒng.
    This virus can attack the human immune system.
  • ，侵袭。
    Shēn yè, dí rén tōu tōu qīn xí le cūn zhuāng.
    Late at night, the enemy secretly attacked the village.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

侵qīninvade
袭xíattack

侵 (invade) and 袭 (attack) combine to mean a sudden or forceful attack.

Characters in this word

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

侵 combines 人 (person), 帚 (broom), and 又 (hand) into the image of a person with a broom in hand.

Open 侵 →

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 襲; 袭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīcloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
龖
龖dá襲xí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 襲, 衣 shows cloth and 龖 gives the sound; the simplified 袭 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical components.

Open 袭 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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