带兵 (dài bīng) — to lead troops, to command soldiers

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to lead / command troops' — focused on the role of commanding soldiers, not battlefield tactics.

verb

to lead troopsto command soldiers

。
Tā dài guò sān nián bīng.
He led troops for three years.
带兵。
Zhè wèi jiāng jūn shàn yú dài bīng.
This general is good at leading troops.
带兵。
dài bīng Dǎ zhàng shì jiāng jūn de zhí zé.
Leading troops in battle is a general's duty.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

带 means lead and 兵 means soldiers, so it pictures leading troops.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.

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

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.