jūn duì
armed forces; troops
中国人民解放军是保卫国家的军队。
Zhōngguó rénmín jiěfàngjūn shì bǎowèi guójiā de jūnduì.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army is the army that defends the country.
军队在边境地区进行军事演习。
Jūnduì zài biānjìng dìqū jìnxíng jūnshì yǎnxí.
The army is conducting military exercises in the border area.
军队在抗洪抢险中发挥了重要作用。
Jūnduì zài kànghóng qiǎngxiǎn zhōng fāhuīle zhòngyào zuòyòng.
The army played an important role in the flood relief and disaster relief.
平民 (píngmín)
civilian
百姓 (bǎixìng)
common people
The Chinese word 军队 (jūn duì) for "army" is composed of two characters: 军 (jūn) and 队 (duì). The character 军 originally meant "weapon" or "military equipment", and later extended to mean "army" or "troops". It is composed of the radical 戈 (gē), which represents a weapon, and the phonetic component 屯 (tún), which has the same pronunciation as 军. The character 队 originally meant "a row" or "a line", and later extended to mean "a team" or "a group". It is composed of the radical 人 (rén), which represents a person, and the phonetic component 对 (duì), which has the same pronunciation as 队. Thus, the word 军队 literally means "a group of people with weapons", which is a fitting description for an army.
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