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起爆 (qǐ bào) — to detonate

Definition

verb
to detonate

Examples

  • 起爆。
    Gōng bīng zhǔn bèi qǐ bào dì léi.
    The engineers are preparing to detonate the landmines.
  • 起爆。
    Zhè ge zhuāng zhì kě yǐ zài yuǎn chù qǐ bào.
    This device can be detonated from a distance.
  • 起爆。
    Tā men yòng yáo kòng qì qǐ bào le zhà yào.
    They detonated the explosives with a remote control.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

起qǐset off
爆bàoexplode

起 means set off and 爆 means explode, so the sense is to detonate.

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →

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
暴
暴bào爆bào
Same sound today

爆 combines 火 (fire) with 暴, which supplies the sound and also originally meant violence.

Open 爆 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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