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退伍军人 (tuì wǔ jūn rén) — veteran (someone who has served in the armed forces and been discharged)

Definition

退伍军人 literally means someone who has 退伍 (been discharged) from the 军人 (military) — specifically a discharged veteran, not an active service member or a general 'soldier' (军人).

noun
veteran (someone who has served in the armed forces and been discharged)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 退伍军人，。
    Tā shì yì míng tuì wǔ jūn rén, wèi guó jiā zuò chū le hěn duō gòng xiàn.
    He is a veteran who has made many contributions to the country.
  • 退伍军人。
    Xǔ duō tuì wǔ jūn rén cān jiā le jì niàn huó dòng.
    Many veterans participated in the commemorative event.
  • 退伍军人。
    Zhè wèi tuì wǔ jūn rén xiàn zài jīng yíng yì jiā gōng sī.
    This veteran now runs a company.

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.

退伍retire from military
退tuìretire伍wǔmilitary unit
动宾Verb + object
军人military person
军jūnmilitary人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head

退伍 describes leaving military service, and 军人 names a military person.

Characters in this word

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

  • 皀皀jífood vessel
  • 夊夊suīdownward foot

退 originally showed 皀, a food vessel, with 夊, a downward foot, for leaving the table after eating. In modern 退, the vessel part 皀 changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 退 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
五
五wǔ伍wǔ
Same sound today

伍 is written with 亻, a person, and 五, which gives the sound.

Open 伍 →

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 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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