枪杆 (qiāng gān) — gun barrel; shaft of a spear; (figurative) armed force; military power

Definition

Literally 'gun barrel/shaft,' but 枪杆子 almost always means the armed force that wields them — i.e., military power, the gun as political tool. Echoes Mao's famous phrase 枪杆子里面出政权.

noun
gun barrelshaft of a spear(figurative) armed forcemilitary power
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 枪杆。
    Lì shǐ shàng hěn duō zhèng quán dōu shì kào qiāng gān zi dǎ chū lái de.
    Many regimes in history were established through armed force.
  • 枪杆。
    Tā xiě le yì piān guān yú qiāng gān zi lǐ miàn chū zhèng quán de wén zhāng.
    He wrote an article about power coming from the barrel of a gun.
  • ，枪杆。
    Gé mìng chū qī, tā men shǒu lǐ zhǐ yǒu jǐ zhī lǎo qiāng gān.
    In the early days of the revolution, they only had a few old guns in their hands.

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.

枪qiānggun
杆gānshaft

枪 means gun, and 杆 means shaft or barrel, so 枪杆 is the barrel or shaft of a gun.

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān杆gǎn
Same sound today

杆 pairs 木 (tree) with 干, which gives the sound. The 木 part shows the thing is made of wood.

Open 杆 →

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