战功 (zhàn gōng) — meritorious military service, battle achievemen… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers specifically to honors and achievements earned in battle. Contrast with 功劳, the general word for merits/contributions in any field.

noun

meritorious military servicebattle achievements

Measure word · 项

Examples

战功，。
Tā yīn wèi zài zhàn chǎng shàng lì xià zhàn gōng, bèi tí shēng wèi jiāng jūn.
He was promoted to general because he achieved meritorious military service on the battlefield.
战功，。
Zhè wèi jiāng jūn de zhàn gōng hěn duō, shì bīng men dōu hěn zūn jìng tā.
This general has many battle achievements, and the soldiers all respect him deeply.
战功。
Lì shǐ shū shàng jì zǎi le tā de zhàn gōng.
His meritorious military service is recorded in history books.

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.

“战” names battle and “功” names merit, together meaning achievements earned in battle.

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.

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.

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

工力功

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng功gōng

Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

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