动用

• Pinyin: dòng yòng
• Hanzi breakdown: 动 = 云 + 力 (to activate/move); 用 = 用 (to use — pictograph of a bucket, extended to utilisation)

Meaning

To mobilise; to deploy; to draw on or make use of (resources, personnel, authority, or funds). Implies the deliberate activation of something significant that was available but not yet in use.

Using 动用 instead of 用 emphasises the scale or significance of what is being activated. Common in military, administrative, legal, and financial contexts. It implies that the resources involved have considerable weight, authority, or consequence.

Examples

1. 抗洪抢险期间，当地政府动用了大量人力物力，全力保障群众安全撤离。 During the flood rescue effort, the local government mobilized a huge amount of manpower and supplies to ensure people could evacuate safely.
2. 检察机关动用了专项经费，对这起复杂的金融诈骗案展开深入调查。 The prosecutors used special funds to launch an in-depth investigation into this complex financial fraud case.
3. 为平息骚乱，当局不得不动用警察机动部队进行现场控制。 To quell the unrest, the authorities had to deploy riot police to bring the scene under control.

Usage Guide

Context: administration, military, finance, legal, emergency

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 政府决定动用国家战略储备，以稳定因供应中断引发的粮食价格波动。(The government decided to deploy national strategic reserves to stabilise food price fluctuations caused by supply disruptions.)
• 在诉讼资源有限的情况下，律师团队须审慎决定是否动用专家证人出庭作证。(With limited litigation resources, the legal team must carefully decide whether to deploy expert witnesses to testify in court.)

Don't Say

• 动用筷子 — 动用 implies the significant or formal activation of substantial resources; do not use for mundane everyday actions; say 拿起筷子 or simply 用筷子 instead

Origin & History

动 (to activate/mobilise) + 用 (to use/employ)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal