攻打 (gōng dǎ) — to attack, to assault | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

攻打 is a military verb meaning to attack or assault a fortified position, stronger than 打击 and more concrete than 攻击.

verb

to attackto assault

Examples

攻打。
Tā men gōng dǎ le dí rén de jī dì.
They attacked the enemy base.
攻打。
Tā zài huì yì shàng gōng dǎ le wǒ de guān diǎn.
He attacked my viewpoint at the meeting.
攻打。
Jūn duì cóng sì miàn gōng dǎ chéng shì.
The army attacked the city from all sides.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

打dǎstrike

攻 and 打 both express attacking a target.

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.

工攵攻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pūhand holding a tool or weapon

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng攻gōng

Same sound today

攻 puts 工, which gives the pronunciation, beside 攵, a hand holding a tool or weapon.

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

扌丁打

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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