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炮弹 (pào dàn) — (artillery) shell

Definition

noun
(artillery) shell
Measure word · 枚

Examples

  • 炮弹。
    Dí rén fā shè le yì méi pào dàn.
    The enemy fired a shell.
  • 炮弹。
    Zhè méi pào dàn méi yǒu bào zhà.
    This shell did not explode.
  • 炮弹。
    Zhàn chǎng shàng yǒu xǔ duō pào dàn kēng.
    There were many shell craters on the battlefield.

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.

炮pàocannon
弹tánshell

The 炮 (cannon) and 弹 (shell) together give an artillery shell.

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo炮pào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

炮 combines 火 and 包; 包 supplies the sound.

Open 炮 →

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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