奔袭 (bēn xí) — (military) to make a long-range raid; (figurative) to undertake a sudden long-distance effort

Definition

Literary/military verb: to make a long-distance rapid strike, usually overland and against a target. Used in news and reportage for troops, enemy forces, or a team covering great distance fast.

verb
(military) to make a long-range raid(figurative) to undertake a sudden long-distance effort

Examples

  • 奔袭，。
    Bù duì lián yè bēn xí, zài tiān liàng qián dào dá le mù dì dì.
    The troops conducted a night raid and reached their destination before dawn.
  • 奔袭，。
    Zhè zhī duì wu cóng běi jīng bēn xí dào shàng hǎi, zhǐ yòng le liǎng tiān.
    This team made a long-distance dash from Beijing to Shanghai in just two days.
  • 奔袭。
    Dí rén shì tú bēn xí wǒ men de hòu fāng jī dì.
    The enemy attempted a long-range raid on our rear base.

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.

奔bēnrush
袭xíraid

奔 means to rush, and 袭 means to raid.

Characters in this word

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

奔 combines 人 (person) and 止 (foot), giving the picture of a person moving on foot.

Open 奔 →

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 →

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