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捍卫 (hàn wèi) — to defend, to safeguard, to uphold

Definition

捍卫 (hànwèi) is a strong, formal 'defend' used for abstract things like dignity, beliefs, or territory. Stronger and more rhetorical than 保护 and 维护, which cover routine protection; 辩护 is specifically verbal/legal defense.

verb
to defendto safeguardto uphold

Examples

  • 捍卫。
    Wǒ men yào yǒng yú hàn wèi zì jǐ de xìn niàn.
    We must be brave enough to defend our own beliefs.
  • 捍卫。
    Tā yòng yì shēng hàn wèi le guó jiā de zūn yán.
    He defended the nation's dignity throughout his life.
  • 捍卫。
    Zhè zhī jūn duì shì sǐ hàn wèi lǐng tǔ wán zhěng.
    This army is determined to defend territorial integrity to the death.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

捍hàndefend
卫wèiprotect

“捍” and “卫” both mean defend or protect, together expressing safeguarding a cause or right.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
旱
旱hàn捍
Same sound today

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 旱 gives the character its sound hàn.

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 衛; 卫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi衛wèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 衛 is built from 行 as the sense part and 韋 as the sound part; the simplified 卫 is a shorthand.

Open 卫 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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