敌阵 (dí zhèn) — enemy position | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

enemy position

敌阵。
Tā men zhǔn bèi jìn gōng dí zhèn.
They are preparing to attack the enemy position.
敌阵。
Wǒ jūn chéng gōng zhàn lǐng le dí zhèn.
Our army successfully captured the enemy position.
敌阵。
Zhēn chá bīng bào gào le dí zhèn de bīng lì.
The scout reported the strength of the enemy position.

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.

阵zhènformation

A 阵 position or formation held by 敌 enemies.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陣; 阵 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 陣, a left-side part was added to a shortened 東; the older shape also used 攴. The simplified 阵 is a later shorthand.