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围困 (wéi kùn) — to besiege (a place or force); to pin down (enemy forces)

Definition

A military verb meaning 'to besiege / surround and trap' an enemy force or place. It focuses on containing the target to cut them off, unlike a direct assault — emphasis is on encirclement, not attack.

verb
to besiege (a place or force)to pin down (enemy forces)

Examples

  • 围困。
    Dí jūn bèi wéi kùn le sān tiān sān yè.
    The enemy was besieged for three days and three nights.
  • 围困。
    Yóu jī duì chéng gōng wéi kùn le dí rén de zēng yuán bù duì.
    The guerrilla forces successfully pinned down the enemy's reinforcements.
  • 围困。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì bèi wéi kùn le zhěng zhěng yì nián.
    This city was besieged for a whole year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

围wéisurround
困kùntrap

“围” surrounds and “困” traps, so it means besiege.

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 圍; 围 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéienclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi圍wéi
Same sound today

The traditional form 圍 pairs 囗 (enclosure) with 韋, which gives the sound; 围 is the simplified form of 圍.

Open 围 →

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

  • 囗囗wéisurround
  • 木木mùwood

困 is drawn as 木 (wood) enclosed by 囗 (surround). The evidence says this was probably the original form of a word meaning 'doorsill'.

Open 困 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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