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出击 (chū jī) — (military) to launch an attack; to sally forth; (figurative) to take the initiative; to go on the offensive

Definition

出击 means to go on the offensive — both in military contexts and, by extension, in business, sports, or competition (see the 公司 and 球队 examples). It implies moving forward to strike, not just defending.

verb
(military) to launch an attackto sally forth(figurative) to take the initiativeto go on the offensive

Examples

  • 出击。
    Bù duì zài líng chén xiàng dí rén chū jī.
    The troops launched an attack on the enemy in the early morning.
  • ，出击。
    Zài bǐ sài de zuì hòu wǔ fēn zhōng, wǒ fāng qiú duì guǒ duàn chū jī.
    In the last five minutes of the game, our team decisively went on the offensive.
  • ，出击。
    Gōng sī chèn zhe shì chǎng jī yù, xiàng jìng zhēng duì shǒu chū jī.
    The company seized the market opportunity and launched an attack on its competitors.

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.

出chūout
击jīstrike

出击 joins 出, out, with 击, strike, to picture moving out to attack.

Characters in this word

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
毄
毄jī擊jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

Open 击 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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