反击 (fǎn jī) — to counterattack, to strike back | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

反击 means a measured, often tactical 'counterattack / strike back' after being attacked or challenged (military, debate, accusations). Unlike 报复 it is not about personal revenge, and unlike 反驳 it is an action, not just a verbal rebuttal.

verb

to counterattackto strike back

Examples

反击。
Dí rén tū rán fā dòng le fǎn jī.
The enemy suddenly launched a counterattack.
反击。
Biàn lùn zhōng tā qiǎo miào dì jìn xíng fǎn jī.
He cleverly launched a counterattack during the debate.
，反击。
Miàn duì bù shí zhǐ kòng, tā xuǎn zé le lěng jìng fǎn jī.
Faced with false accusations, he chose to calmly strike back.

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.

击jīto strike

反 means back and 击 means to strike, giving a sense of striking back.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

又又yòuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

厂

厂chǎng反fǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Conflict & Agreement

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