敌区 (dí ōu) — enemy territory, enemy-controlled area

Definition

Military/journalistic term for 'enemy-controlled territory' — emphasizes that an area is held by hostile forces, not merely hostile ground (like 敌后 behind enemy lines, or 敌阵 enemy ranks).

noun
enemy territoryenemy-controlled area

Examples

  • 敌区。
    Zhēn chá bīng qiāo qiāo qián rù dí ōu shōu jí qíng bào.
    The scouts quietly infiltrated enemy territory to gather intelligence.
  • 敌区。
    Tā men zài dí ōu lǐ huó dòng le sān gè yuè.
    They operated in enemy territory for three months.
  • 敌区。
    Zhè piàn qū yù yǐ jīng biàn chéng le dí ōu.
    This area has already become enemy territory.

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díenemy
区qūarea

敌 (enemy) and 区 (area) combine: the word means an area controlled by an enemy.

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.

Open 敌 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.

Open 区 →

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