先锋队 (xiān fēng duì) — vanguard; leading force (especially in political, revolutionary, or organizational contexts)

Definition

A political/organizational term: the leading, most advanced contingent of a group (e.g. a party's vanguard). Use 先锋 only when stressing the person or pioneering spirit; 先锋队 adds the sense of an organized team or unit.

noun
vanguardleading force (especially in political, revolutionary, or organizational contexts)
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 先锋队。
    Zhōng guó gòng chǎn dǎng shì gōng rén jiē jí de xiān fēng duì.
    The Chinese Communist Party is the vanguard of the working class.
  • 先锋队。
    Zhè zhī duì wu zài gǎi gé zhōng qǐ dào le xiān fēng duì de zuò yòng.
    This team played a vanguard role in the reform.
  • 先锋队。
    Lì shǐ shàng de gé mìng xiān fēng duì wèi guó jiā dú lì zuò chū le jù dà gòng xiàn.
    The revolutionary vanguard in history made great contributions to national independence.

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.

先锋vanguard
先xiānfront锋fēngedge
偏正Modifier + head
队duìteam

“先” (front) and “锋” (edge) form “先锋” (vanguard), which combines with “队” (team) for a leading force.

Characters in this word

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

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

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 鋒; 锋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
夆
夆páng鋒fēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鋒 pairs 金 (metal) with a sound part 夆; the simplified 锋 is a shorthand.

Open 锋 →

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 →

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