空投 (kōng tóu) — to airdrop (supplies, personnel, etc.) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Verb meaning to deliver supplies, personnel, or game items by parachute or aircraft. Often used in military, disaster-relief, and (slang) video-game contexts like battle royale drops.

verb

to airdrop (supplies, personnel, etc.)

Examples

空投。
Jiù yuán wù zī tōng guò kōng tóu sòng dào le zāi qū.
Relief supplies were airdropped to the disaster area.
空投。
Jūn duì zài yè jiān jìn xíng le kōng tóu xíng dòng.
The military carried out an airdrop operation at night.
空投。
Yóu xì lǐ měi guò jǐ fēn zhōng jiù huì yǒu yí cì kōng tóu.
In the game, there is an airdrop every few minutes.

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.

“空” gives air and “投” gives drop, together meaning to drop something from the air.

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.

穴工空

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave, hole

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng空kōng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌殳投

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

殳

殳shū投tóu

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Appears in

Air Travel Military & Defense

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