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偷袭 (tōu xí) — to launch a surprise attack, to ambush

Definition

A surprise attack or ambush, striking when the opponent doesn't expect it. Used for both military attacks and figurative 'surprise' moves in sports or strategy.

verb
to launch a surprise attackto ambush

Examples

  • 偷袭。
    Dí rén chèn yè tōu xí le wǒ men de yíng dì.
    The enemy launched a surprise attack on our camp under cover of night.
  • 偷袭。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng yǐ yí cì chéng gōng de tōu xí kāi shǐ.
    This war began with a successful surprise attack.
  • 偷袭。
    Duì fāng qiú duì zài zuì hòu shí kè tōu xí dé fēn.
    The opposing team scored a surprise point in the final moment.

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.

偷tōusecretly
袭xíattack

偷 secretly and 袭 attack together mean a surprise attack.

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rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

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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