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敌后 (dí hòu) — enemy rear area; area behind enemy lines

Definition

Refers to the territory behind enemy lines, typically used in a military context. The 后 here means 'behind/rear', not 'later' as in 之后.

noun
enemy rear areaarea behind enemy lines

Examples

  • 敌后，。
    Yóu jī duì huó yuè zài dí hòu, gěi dí rén zào chéng le hěn dà má fan.
    The guerrilla forces operated behind enemy lines, causing great trouble for the enemy.
  • 敌后。
    Tā men shēn rù dí hòu zhí xíng zhēn chá rèn wu.
    They infiltrated the enemy rear area to carry out reconnaissance missions.
  • 敌后。
    dí hòu De qún zhòng mào zhe shēng mìng wēi xiǎn zhī yuán qián xiàn.
    The civilians in the enemy rear area risked their lives to support the front lines.

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
后hòurear

The idea of 敌 and the direction 后 point to the area beyond enemy lines.

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 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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