民防 (mín fáng) — civil defense

Definition

noun
civil defense
Easily confused

Examples

  • 民防。
    Zhèng fǔ zài jiā qiáng mín fáng gōng zuò.
    The government is strengthening civil defense work.
  • 民防。
    mín fáng Yǎn xí měi nián jǔ xíng yí cì.
    Civil defense drills are held once a year.
  • 民防。
    Wǒ men shè qū yǒu yí gè mín fáng zhōng xīn.
    Our community has a civil defense center.

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.

民mínpeople
防fángdefense

'民' means people and '防' means defense, together 'civil defense'.

Characters in this word

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng防fáng
Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

Open 防 →

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