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报数 (bào shù) — to count off (in sequence, as in military drill)

Definition

A military or drill command: each person in a row says their number in order (1, 2, 3…). The first-person verb is 报, not 数.

verb
to count off (in sequence, as in military drill)

Examples

  • 报数。
    Quán tǐ shì bīng zhǔn bèi bào shù.
    All soldiers, prepare to count off.
  • 。
    Tā men bào le yí cì shù.
    They counted off once.
  • 。
    Měi zǔ dōu yào bào liǎng biàn shù.
    Each group must count off twice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

报bàoreport
数shùnumber

报 means 'report' and 数 means 'number', so the action is to report one's number in sequence.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 報; 报 is its simplified writing.

  • 㚔㚔㚔handcuffs
  • 𠬝𠬝𠬝to subdue

The traditional form 報 puts 㚔 (handcuffs) beside 𠬝 (to subdue), showing someone restrained and subdued, as in convicting or punishing a guilty person. The simplified 报 is a later shorthand.

Open 报 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 數; 数 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu數shù(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 數 pairs 攴, the meaning part, with 婁, the sound part; the simplified 数 is a shorthand.

Open 数 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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