防空 (fáng kōng) — air defense; anti-aircraft defense | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

air defenseanti-aircraft defense

Examples

防空。
Guó jiā jiā qiáng le fáng kōng xì tǒng.
The country strengthened its air defense system.
防空。
Zhè zhǒng dǎo dàn yòng yú fáng kōng.
This type of missile is used for air defense.
防空。
Jūn duì jìn xíng le fáng kōng yǎn xí.
The military conducted an air defense drill.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

防fángguard against

防 means to guard against, and 空 means air; together they denote air defense.

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.

阝方防

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng防fáng

Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, 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.

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.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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