假想敌 (jiǎ xiǎng dí) — imagined enemy; hypothetical adversary

Definition

A military/strategic term for an 'imagined enemy' — a hypothetical adversary used for planning, training, or framing conflict, rather than a real opponent.

noun
imagined enemyhypothetical adversary

Examples

  • 假想敌。
    Tā bǎ suǒ yǒu jìng zhēng duì shǒu dōu kàn zuò jiǎ xiǎng dí.
    He sees all competitors as imagined enemies.
  • ，假想敌。
    Zài zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ, zhǔ jué de jiǎ xiǎng dí qí shí shì zì jǐ de guò qù.
    In this novel, the protagonist's imagined enemy is actually his own past.
  • 假想敌。
    Jūn duì yǎn xí shí jīng cháng shè dìng yí gè jiǎ xiǎng dí lái xùn liàn shì bīng.
    During military exercises, they often set up an imagined enemy to train the soldiers.

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.

假想imagine
假jiǎfalse想xiǎngthink
偏正Modifier + head
敌díenemy

假想 means 'false thinking', i.e. imagine, and 敌 is enemy, so an imagined enemy.

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
叚
叚jiǎ假jiǎ
Same sound today

假 pairs 亻 (person) with 叚, which gives the sound jiǎ.

Open 假 →

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
心心xīnheart, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto tap; to hit
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì敵dí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Open 敌 →

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