国防 (guó fáng) — national defense

Definition

noun
national defense

Examples

  • 国防
    Jiā qiáng guó fáng shì měi gè zhǔ quán guó jiā de quán lì.
    Strengthening national defense is the right of every sovereign state.
  • 国防
    Tā zài guó fáng dà xué xué xí jūn shì jì shù.
    He studies military technology at a national defense university.
  • 国防
    Xiàn dài guó fáng bù jǐn bāo kuò jūn duì, hái bāo kuò wǎng luò ān quán.
    Modern national defense includes not only the military but also cybersecurity.

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.

guócountry
fángdefense

“国” means country, and “防” means defense; together they name national defense.

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 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
huòguó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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
Written in full as
Sound part声符shēngfú
fāngfáng
Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

Open 防 →

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