掩护 (yǎn hù) — (verb) to shield, to cover (for), to provide cover; (noun) cover, protection, screen

Definition

掩护 is military/operational cover — actively shielding someone's movement or action, not general protection. Stronger and more tactical than 保护; sharper than 包庇, which is about concealing wrongdoing.

verb
to shieldto cover (for)to provide cover
noun
coverprotectionscreen
Measure word · 面

Examples

  • 掩护。
    Tǎn kè kě yǐ yǎn hù bù bīng qián jìn.
    Tanks can cover the infantry's advance.
  • 掩护。
    Tā men lián yè wèi shāng yuán dù hé zuò yǎn hù.
    They provided cover overnight for the wounded to cross the river.
  • 掩护，。
    Zài pào huǒ de yǎn hù xià, tū jī duì chōng le shàng qù.
    Under the cover of artillery fire, the assault team charged forward.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

掩yǎncover
护hùprotect

掩 means to cover and 护 means to protect, so 掩护 combines covering and protecting.

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
奄
奄yǎn掩yǎn
Same sound today

The left part 扌 is a hand; the right part 奄 gives the character its sound.

Open 掩 →

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shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
户
户hù护hù
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Safety & Danger3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.