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阵脚 (zhèn jiǎ) — (figurative) one's position, composure, or footing (in a situation); (literal) front line or position in a military formation

Definition

Originally a military term for the front-line position of a formation, 阵脚 now mostly means one's composure or footing under pressure — usually in set phrases like 乱了阵脚 or 稳住阵脚.

noun
(figurative) one's positioncomposureor footing (in a situation)(literal) front line or position in a military formation

Examples

  • ，阵脚。
    Duì fāng tū rán gǎi biàn cè lüè, wǒ men yí xià zi jiù luàn le zhèn jiǎ.
    The other side suddenly changed their strategy, and we lost our composure in an instant.
  • ，阵脚，。
    Miàn duì wēi jī, tā nǔ lì wěn zhù zhèn jiǎ, méi yǒu huāng luàn.
    Facing the crisis, he managed to hold his ground and did not panic.
  • 阵脚。
    Duì shǒu de gōng jī dǎ luàn le wǒ men de zhèn jiǎ.
    The opponent's attack disrupted our position.

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.

阵zhènbattle formation
脚jiǎofoot

The 阵 of a battle formation and the 脚 of a foot or footing together picture the position one holds in a situation.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陣; 阵 is its simplified writing.

  • 東東dōngsack?
  • 東東dōng
  • 攴攴pū

In the traditional form 陣, a left-side part was added to a shortened 東; the older shape also used 攴. The simplified 阵 is a later shorthand.

Open 阵 →

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 腳; 脚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body
Sound part声符shēngfú
卻
卻què腳jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腳 uses ⺼ for a body part and 卻 for the sound; the simplified 脚 is a later shorthand.

Open 脚 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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