拉夫 (lā fū) — to press-gang, to forcibly conscript (usually for military or labor service)

Definition

拉夫 means to forcibly seize civilians and press them into military or labor service — a historical practice, especially during wartime or warlord eras. Often used in the passive 被拉夫 ('to be press-ganged').

verb
to press-gangto forcibly conscript (usually for military or labor service)

Examples

  • ，拉夫。
    Nà nián jūn fá hùn zhàn, dào chù dōu zài lā fū.
    During the warlord conflicts that year, press-ganging was happening everywhere.
  • ，。
    Tā nián qīng shí bèi lā guò yí cì fū, bèi pò dāng le sān gè yuè bīng.
    When he was young, he was press-ganged once and forced to serve as a soldier for three months.
  • 拉夫。
    Zhè běn shū xiáng xì miáo xiě le mín guó shí qī lā fū de xiàn xiàng.
    This book describes in detail the phenomenon of press-ganging during the Republican era.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

拉lāpull
夫fūman

To 拉 (pull) 夫 (men) into forced service gives the sense of press-ganging.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì拉lā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拉 pairs 手 (hand) with 立, a component that supplies the sound.

Open 拉 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

夫 originally drew a man. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write a pronoun, so the picture and the pronoun meaning are unrelated.

Open 夫 →

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