敌人 (dí rén) — enemy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

敌人 is a personal or military enemy — someone who opposes or attacks you. 对手 is a more neutral opponent or rival in competition, while 仇人 is a personal enemy driven by hatred.

noun

enemy

Measure word · 个

Examples

敌人。
Wǒ men yào xiǎo xīn nà ge dí rén.
We need to be careful of that enemy.
，敌人。
Tā céng jīng shì wǒ de péng you, xiàn zài chéng le dí rén.
He was once my friend, but now he has become an enemy.
敌人。
Tā men zuì zhōng zhàn shèng le dí rén.
They finally defeated the enemy.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

'敌' modifies '人' to mean an opposing person.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto tap; to hit

Sound part声符shēngfú

啻

啻chì敵dí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

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