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奇袭 (qí xí) — to launch a surprise attack; to ambush

Definition

奇袭 (qí xí) is a military term for a surprise attack that catches the enemy off guard, combining 奇 ('unexpected') with 袭 ('raid'). As a verb, the object is usually a position or unit, not a person.

verb
to launch a surprise attackto ambush

Examples

  • 奇袭。
    Dí rén chèn yè sè qí xí le wǒ men de yíng dì.
    The enemy launched a surprise attack on our camp under cover of darkness.
  • 奇袭，。
    Zhè cì qí xí xíng dòng fēi cháng chéng gōng, dí jūn háo wú fáng bèi.
    This surprise attack operation was very successful; the enemy was completely unprepared.
  • 奇袭。
    Zhǐ huī guān jué dìng yòng qí xí zhàn shù dǎ luàn duì fāng de bù shǔ.
    The commander decided to use a surprise attack tactic to disrupt the enemy's deployment.

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.

奇qísurprise
袭xíattack

奇 (surprise) modifies 袭 (attack), giving 'surprise attack'.

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
大大dàbig; great
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě奇
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

Open 奇 →

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 襲; 袭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīcloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
龖
龖dá襲xí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 襲, 衣 shows cloth and 龖 gives the sound; the simplified 袭 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical components.

Open 袭 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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