战士 (zhàn shì) — soldier; warrior; fighter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

战士 emphasizes the individual soldier's fighting spirit or courage, often used honorifically. 士兵 is the neutral term for a rank-and-file soldier; 兵 refers to soldiers collectively or as military force.

noun

soldierwarriorfighter

Measure word · 个

Examples

战士。
Měi gè zhàn shì dōu jīng guò le yán gé de xùn liàn.
Every soldier has undergone strict training.
战士。
Zhè ge zhàn shì zài zhàn dòu zhōng shòu shāng le.
This soldier was wounded in combat.
战士。
zhàn shì De jīng shén zhí dé wǒ men xué xí.
The warrior's spirit is worth learning from.

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.

The person 士 is linked to 战, giving a fighter or soldier.

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.

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Appears in

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