About

The word 坦克 is formed through phonetic borrowing from English, specifically representing the sound of the word "tank". The characters 坦 (tǎn) and 克 (kè) were selected not for their individual meanings ("flat" and "overcome", respectively) but because their combined pronunciation closely approximates the foreign term for the military vehicle. This is a standard method in Chinese for creating words for imported concepts, where the written form captures the sound while the meaning is entirely assigned to this new combined term.

Example Sentences Hide

这辆坦克在战场上。

Zhè liàng tǎnkè zài zhànchǎng shàng.

This tank is on the battlefield.

坦克是陆军的重要装备。

Tǎnkè shì lùjūn de zhòngyào zhuāngbèi.

Tanks are important equipment for the army.

现代坦克配备了先进的火控系统。

Xiàndài tǎnkè pèibèi le xiānjìn de huǒkòng xìtǒng.

Modern tanks are equipped with advanced fire control systems.

在演习中,那辆新型坦克展示了强大的越野能力。

Zài yǎnxí zhōng, nà liàng xīnxíng tǎnkè zhǎnshì le qiángdà de yuèyě nénglì.

During the exercise, that new tank demonstrated powerful off-road capability.

尽管反坦克武器不断发展,但主战坦克仍是地面突击的核心力量。

Jǐnguǎn fǎn tǎnkè wǔqì bùduàn fāzhǎn, dàn zhǔzhàn tǎnkè réng shì dìmiàn tūjí de héxīn lìliàng.

Although anti-tank weapons continue to develop, main battle tanks remain the core force of ground assaults.

Word Definition - 坦克

tǎn kè tank (military vehicle) (loanword)

Individual Character Details