攻击

• Pinyin: gōng jī
• Hanzi breakdown: 攻 = 工 (work) + 攵 (action), meaning to attack; 击 = hand striking down

Meaning

To attack; attack; assault. Physical, verbal, or digital aggression.

Used across contexts: military (发动攻击 launch an attack), sports (攻击型球员 offensive player), verbal (人身攻击 personal attack), and cyber (网络攻击 cyberattack). Antonym: 防御 (defense). Related: 进攻 (offense, attack), 抨击 (to criticize harshly).

Examples

1. 这家公司的服务器遭到了黑客的攻击，大量用户数据泄露。 This company's servers were attacked by hackers, and a large amount of user data was leaked.
2. 辩论时应该就事论事，不要进行人身攻击。 When debating, you should discuss the matter at hand and not make personal attacks.
3. 蜜蜂一般不会主动攻击人，除非感觉受到威胁。 Bees generally don't attack people proactively unless they feel threatened.

Usage Guide

Context: military, sports, cybersecurity, debates

Tone: aggressive

Do Say

• 系统检测到异常攻击。(The system detected an abnormal attack.)
• 请不要人身攻击。(Please don't make personal attacks.)

Don't Say

• 把批评都说成攻击 (Don't label all criticism as 攻击 — legitimate criticism is not the same as an attack)

Origin & History

Compound of 攻 (to attack) + 击 (to strike). 攻 shows 工 (work) with 攵 (action), meaning to work at attacking; 击 depicts a hand striking.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal