哨所 (shào suǒ) — (military) sentry post; guard post

Definition

A military guard post where soldiers stand watch, typically at a border or remote site. The first character 哨 (shào) is a polyphone here, pronounced with the falling tone, not as in 口哨 (whistle).

noun
(military) sentry postguard post
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 哨所。
    Shì bīng zài shào suǒ zhàn gǎng.
    Soldiers stand guard at the sentry post.
  • 哨所。
    Zhè ge shào suǒ wèi yú biān jìng xiàn shàng.
    This sentry post is located on the border line.
  • 哨所。
    Dōng tiān shào suǒ fēi cháng hán lěng.
    In winter, the sentry post is very cold.

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.

哨shàosentry
所suǒplace

哨 (sentry) and 所 (place) together mean a guard post.

Characters in this word

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
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

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