岸防 (àn fáng) — coastal defense, shore defense | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A military term for the defense of coastlines and shores against naval attack — broader than 海防, which refers specifically to naval defense forces and operations.

noun

coastal defenseshore defense

Examples

岸防。
Zhè ge guó jiā de àn fáng xì tǒng fēi cháng xiān jìn.
This country's coastal defense system is very advanced.
岸防。
Lì shǐ shàng zhè lǐ céng shì zhòng yào de àn fáng jī dì.
Historically, this place was an important coastal defense base.
岸防。
Tā men jiā qiáng le àn fáng gōng shì yǐ yìng duì wēi xié.
They strengthened coastal defense fortifications to respond to threats.

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.

防fángdefense

岸 means shore and 防 means defense, so 岸防 refers to defending a shore or coastline.

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

屵屵àncliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

岸 shows 屵, a cliff, next to 干, which gives a clue to the sound; together they point to the edge of land.

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

阝方防

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng防fáng

Same sound today

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

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