队形 (duì xíng) — formation | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

队形 refers to the spatial arrangement or pattern of people in a group (military, sports, dance) — the SHAPE, not the group itself. 队伍 is the people/line itself, 阵容 a team's lineup or battle order.

noun

formation

Measure word · 个

Examples

队形。
Jūn duì de duì xíng fēi cháng zhěng qí.
The army's formation is very neat.
队形。
Wǔ dǎo yǎn yuán men zhèng zài liàn xí xīn de duì xíng.
The dancers are practicing a new formation.
队形。
Jiào liàn ràng wǒ men bǎo chí zhè ge duì xíng.
The coach told us to maintain this formation.

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.

「队」 gives the sense of a group, and 「形」 adds its arranged shape, producing formation.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

㒸

㒸㒸隊duì

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

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.

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

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng形xíng

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

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Groups & Organizations

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