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敌对 (dí duì) — hostile, antagonistic

Definition

adjective
hostileantagonistic

Examples

  • 敌对。
    Liǎng guó zhī jiān yì zhí cún zài dí duì guān xì.
    There has always been a hostile relationship between the two countries.
  • 敌对。
    Tā de dí duì tài dù ràng tán pàn xiàn rù jiāng jú.
    His antagonistic attitude brought the negotiations to a stalemate.
  • 敌对，。
    Shuāng fāng dí duì qíng xù hěn zhòng, nán yǐ tiáo jiě.
    Both sides have strong hostile feelings, making mediation difficult.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

敌díenemy
对duìoppose

敌 and 对 both carry hostile or opposing sense, together giving antagonism.

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 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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