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撤军 (chè jūn) — to withdraw troops, to pull out military forces

Definition

A formal, written term meaning 'to withdraw troops' — common in official and news contexts rather than everyday speech. Functions as a verb-object unit, often paired with 从/从…撤出.

verb
to withdraw troopsto pull out military forces

Examples

  • 撤军。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng cóng biān jìng chè jūn.
    The government decided to withdraw troops from the border.
  • 。
    Tā men qù nián yǐ jīng chè le jūn.
    They had already withdrawn troops last year.
  • 撤军。
    Zhè cì chè jūn xíng dòng fēi cháng shùn lì.
    This troop withdrawal operation went very smoothly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

撤chèwithdraw
军jūntroops

“撤” means withdraw and “军” means troops, so the word describes pulling military forces out.

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
徹
徹chè撤chè
Same sound today

撤 pairs 扌 (hand) with 徹, which gives the sound. The shape shows removing something by hand.

Open 撤 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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