禁军 (jìn jūn) — imperial guards, palace guard troops (in ancient China)

Definition

Armed troops in ancient China directly under the emperor, tasked with guarding the palace and capital. Their closeness to the throne often made them powerful political players in dynastic conflicts.

noun
imperial guardspalace guard troops (in ancient China)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 禁军。
    Běi sòng de jìn jūn shì dāng shí zuì jīng ruì de bù duì.
    The imperial guards of the Northern Song were the most elite troops at the time.
  • 禁军。
    jìn jūn De zhí zé shì bǎo hù huáng gōng hé huáng dì de ān quán.
    The duty of the imperial guards was to protect the palace and the emperor's safety.
  • 禁军。
    Lì shǐ shàng duō cì bīng biàn dōu yóu jìn jūn fā dòng.
    Many military coups in history were launched by the imperial guards.

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.

禁jìnforbidden palace
军jūntroops

“禁” refers to the forbidden palace, specifying the “军” as guard troops.

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
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.