Chinese word

攻

Pronunciation

Pinyingōng

Meaning

  • verbattack

Example

敌军开始进攻我们的城门。dí jūn kāi shǐ jìn gōng wǒ men de chéng mén

The enemy army began to attack our city gate.

Illustration for 攻 (attack)

More examples

要塞的守军成功抵挡住来势，未被攻破。yào sài de shǒu jūn chéng gōng dí dǎng zhù lái shì wèi bèi gōng pò

The fortress garrison successfully resisted the attack, and the fortress was not breached.

Core concept

Force is directed at a chosen target to overcome resistance and drive it back.

Common phrases

  • 攻破gōng pò

    break through

  • 攻城gōng chéng

    besiege a city

Similar words

攻击gōng jī: To use force or other means to attack a target and cause damage.
进攻jìn gōng: To move forward toward an enemy or opponent and attack.
袭击xí jī: To attack an enemy suddenly by taking them by surprise.

Definition in Chinese

以武力或其他手段对目标发起攻击、打击。yǐ wǔ lì huò qí tā shǒu duàn duì mù biāo fā qǐ gōng jī dǎ jī

Word origin

攻 (gōng, "attack") is a phono-semantic character made from 工 (gōng, "work") + 攵 (pū, "strike"); 工 indicates the sound, and 攵 contributes the idea of forceful action.

Usage tips

  • Everyday speakers usually place this verb inside a compound expression, so recognizing it in news reports and game commentary helps connect formal and casual Chinese.

Other meanings

  • offensivenoun
  • invadeverb
  • chargeverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 攻克gōng kèconquerverb
  • 攻势gōng shìoffensivenoun

Word lists with this word