战马 (zhàn mǎ) — war-horse; charger (horse ridden in battle) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

war-horsecharger (horse ridden in battle)

Measure word · 匹

Examples

战马。
Gǔ dài jiāng jūn de zhàn mǎ fēi cháng qiáng zhuàng.
The war-horses of ancient generals were very strong.
战马。
Zhè pǐ zhàn mǎ zài zhàn chǎng shàng biǎo xiàn yīng yǒng.
This war-horse performed bravely on the battlefield.
战马。
Tā qí zhe zhàn mǎ chōng xiàng le dí rén.
He rode the war-horse charging toward the enemy.

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 (battle) and 马 (horse) combine to picture a horse ridden 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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals Military & Defense

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