前哨战 (qián shào zhàn) — (military) advance-guard skirmish, preliminary engagement; (figurative) preliminary conflict or test before a larger confrontation

Definition

A 'skirmish before the main battle' — literally an advance-guard fight, but in modern use it mostly refers to a preliminary contest (talks, market moves, rivalry) that sets up a bigger showdown later.

noun
(military) advance-guard skirmishpreliminary engagement(figurative) preliminary conflict or test before a larger confrontation
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 前哨战。
    Zhè chǎng qián shào zhàn wèi hòu miàn de zhǔ lì jué zhàn zuò hǎo le zhǔn bèi.
    This advance-guard skirmish prepared the way for the main battle to come.
  • 前哨战。
    Liǎng jiā gōng sī zài shì chǎng shàng de qián shào zhàn yǐ jīng kāi shǐ le.
    The preliminary skirmish between the two companies in the market has already begun.
  • 前哨战，。
    Zhè cì tán pàn zhǐ shì shuāng fāng zhī jiān de qián shào zhàn, zhēn zhèng de jiào liàng hái zài hòu miàn.
    This negotiation is just a preliminary skirmish between the two sides; the real contest is yet to come.

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.

前哨advance outpost
前qiánfront哨shàooutpost
偏正Modifier + head
战zhànbattle

前哨 (advance outpost) describes the kind of 战 (battle).

Characters in this word

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

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Open 前 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 哨 →

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
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn战zhàn
Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →

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