冲锋 (chōng fēng) — to charge; to assault | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

冲锋 is a military-charging verb meaning to rush forward to attack, almost always paired with 向/向敌方向 (or used in 冲锋陷阵, 打头阵). Stronger and more action-specific than generic 进攻.

verb

to chargeto assault

Examples

冲锋。
Zhàn shì men xiàng dí rén zhèn dì chōng fēng.
The soldiers charged toward the enemy position.
，冲锋。
Hào jiǎo yì xiǎng, quán jūn kāi shǐ chōng fēng.
As soon as the bugle sounded, the whole army began the assault.
冲锋，。
Tā dài tóu chōng fēng, gǔ wǔ le dà jiā dī shì qì.
He led the charge, boosting everyone's morale.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

锋fēngspearhead

冲 means rush and 锋 means spearhead or front, so one rushes toward the front.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

重

重zhòng衝chōng

Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

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.

金夆鋒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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