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敌手 (dí shǒu) — rival, opponent, adversary

Definition

A formal word for 'rival, opponent, adversary' — usually a powerful or serious one, stronger than 对手 (which can also mean a casual partner in a game).

noun
rivalopponentadversary
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，敌手。
    Zài zhè chǎng bǐ sài zhōng, tā yù dào le yí gè qiáng dà de dí shǒu.
    In this match, he encountered a powerful opponent.
  • 敌手。
    Tā shì wǒ zài shāng chǎng shàng zuì dà de dí shǒu.
    He is my biggest rival in the business world.
  • ，敌手。
    Zhàn chǎng shàng, shuāng fāng dōu shì duì fāng wèi sǐ dí dí shǒu.
    On the battlefield, both sides regard each other as deadly adversaries.

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
手shǒuperson/opponent

敌 means enemy and 手 means a person or opponent, together giving the sense of a rival or adversary.

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 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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