穿甲弹 (chuān jiǎ dàn) — armor-piercing shell; armor-piercing projectile

Definition

A military shell designed to penetrate armor (tanks, steel plates). The compound is built from 穿 ('pierce') + 甲 ('armor') + 弹 ('projectile/shell').

noun

armor-piercing shellarmor-piercing projectile

Measure word · 颗

穿甲弹。
Tǎn kè fā shè le yì méi chuān jiǎ dàn.
The tank fired an armor-piercing shell.
穿甲弹。
Zhè zhǒng chuān jiǎ dàn kě yǐ chuān tòu hòu gāng bǎn.
This type of armor-piercing projectile can penetrate thick steel plates.
穿甲弹。
Shì bīng men zhèng zài bān yùn chuān jiǎ dàn.
The soldiers are transporting armor-piercing shells.

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.

穿甲pierce armor

动宾Verb + object

弹tánprojectile

穿甲 means piercing armor, and 弹 names the projectile.

Characters in this word

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

穴牙穿

穿 puts 穴 (cave) and 牙 (tooth) together to show passing through or penetrating.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

甲 is drawn as a hard protective shell, carapace, or scales of an animal, or as armor made of connected plates.

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.

弓單彈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in