宣战 (xuān zhàn) — to declare war | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'declare war'. Used both literally (between nations) and figuratively — announcing a major campaign against a problem like pollution or poverty. More formal than the everyday verb 打 dǎ.

verb

to declare war

Examples

宣战。
Liǎng guó zhèng shì xuān zhàn le.
The two countries officially declared war.
。
Zhè ge guó jiā yǐ jīng duì lín guó xuān guò yí cì zhàn.
This country has already declared war on a neighboring country once.
宣战，。
Zhèng fǔ xiàng huán jìng wū rǎn xuān zhàn, jué xīn chè dǐ zhěng zhì.
The government declared war on environmental pollution, determined to thoroughly clean it up.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

宣xuāndeclare

It combines 宣 'declare' with 战 'war' to mean to declare war.

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.

宀亘宣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

亘

亘gèn宣xuān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

宣 pairs the roof 宀, pointing to the emperor's main hall, with 亘 as the sound part. From that hall meaning, it came to mean clear or evident.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

占戈战

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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