混进 (hùn jìn) — to infiltrate, to sneak into (by blending in)

Definition

混进 (hùn jìn) is a separable verb meaning to infiltrate or sneak into a group or place by blending in unnoticed. Split it as 混…进 for objects (混入人群中) and insertion of other elements (混了进去).

verb
to infiltrateto sneak into (by blending in)

Examples

  • 混进，。
    Tā hùn jìn le huì chǎng, méi yǒu rén fā xiàn.
    He infiltrated the meeting hall without anyone noticing.
  • 混进。
    Xiǎng yào hùn jìn zhè ge zǔ zhī bìng bù róng yì.
    It's not easy to sneak into this organization.
  • 混进。
    Tā hùn jìn le yì qún xué shēng zhōng jiān.
    He blended in among a group of students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

混hùnblend in
进jìnenter

混 means to blend in and 进 gives the direction into, making sneak into.

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shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn混hùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 混 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

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