受敌 (shòu dí) — to be attacked by enemies; to come under enemy…

Definition

Literary/written verb meaning 'to come under enemy attack' — typically used in military or historical narrative, not everyday speech.

verb

to be attacked by enemiesto come under enemy attack

受敌。
Zhè zhī jūn duì zài xiá gǔ zhōng shòu dí le yí cì dà dí.
This army suffered a major enemy attack in the canyon.
受敌。
Qián xiàn bù duì zhèng miàn lín shòu dí de wēi xiǎn.
The frontline troops are facing the danger of being attacked by enemies.
受敌，。
Ruò shì shòu dí, bì xū lì jí chè tuì.
If attacked, we must retreat immediately.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

受 means to suffer or be subjected to, and 敌 means enemy, giving a sense of coming under enemy attack.

Characters in this word

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto tap; to hit

Sound part声符shēngfú

啻

啻chì敵dí

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

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.