TongTong
Sign in

动武 (dòng wǔ) — to resort to force, to use violence, to come to blows

Definition

动武 means to resort to physical force or armed action between parties (countries, groups, people). It implies actual fighting, stronger than just arguing or threatening — narrower than 打 or 动手, which cover any physical action.

verb
to resort to forceto use violenceto come to blows

Examples

  • 动武，。
    Tā men bù xiǎng dòng wǔ, dàn shì méi bàn fǎ.
    They don't want to resort to force, but they have no choice.
  • 。
    Liǎng guó zhī jiān cóng lái méi yǒu dòng guò wǔ.
    The two countries have never resorted to force with each other.
  • ，动武。
    Tán pàn shī bài hòu, shuāng fāng kāi shǐ dòng wǔ.
    After the negotiations failed, both sides started to use force.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

动dònguse
武wǔforce

动 means use and 武 means force, so it means using force.

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 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →

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

武 puts 戈 (dagger-axe) above 止 (foot/to walk), showing an army going on an expedition.

Open 武 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.