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消防 (xiāo fáng) — (verb) to fight fires; to carry out firefighting and fire prevention

Definition

Used as a set word (消防车, 消防员) for firefighting and fire prevention — both putting out fires and preventing them. Less common as a standalone verb; 灭火 is the everyday verb for 'put out a fire'.

verb
to fight firesto carry out firefighting and fire prevention

Examples

  • 消防。
    Tā men zhèng zài xiāo fáng huǒ zāi.
    They are fighting the fire.
  • 消防。
    Zhè ge xì tǒng kě yǐ xiāo fáng huǒ zāi.
    This system can fight fires.
  • 消防。
    Wǒ men xū yào xiāo fáng yǐn huàn.
    We need to eliminate fire hazards.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

消xiāoput out
防fángprevent

消 means to put out or remove danger, and 防 means to guard against it, together covering fire control.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào消xiāo
Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

Open 消 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Safety & Danger5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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