营救

• Pinyin: yíng jiù
• Hanzi breakdown: 营 = 火 + 宫 (fire + structure — military camp, organised effort); 救 = 求 + 攴 (seek + action — to save by deliberate effort)

Meaning

To rescue; to save someone from danger. Implies deliberate, organised effort to free or save people in peril.

More forceful and urgent than 救助. Often used in dramatic or high-stakes contexts: natural disasters, hostage situations, war, and sea rescues. Common in news reporting and official announcements. Frequently collocates with 行动 (operation) and 任务 (mission).

Examples

1. 这场多国联合海上营救历时七十二小时，最终把搁浅货轮上的二十三名船员全部安全救上岸。 This multinational sea rescue lasted 72 hours and finally brought all 23 crew members from the grounded cargo ship safely ashore.
2. 特种部队在掌握情报后连夜突袭，未开一枪就成功营救出被扣押四十七天的外国援助人员。 After obtaining intelligence, the special forces launched a night raid and successfully rescued the foreign aid worker who had been held for 47 days, without firing a shot.
3. 地震后，救援队冒着余震连续奋战八十多个小时，从废墟中营救出三十六名幸存者。 After the earthquake, the rescue team worked for more than 80 hours despite aftershocks and rescued 36 survivors from the rubble.

Usage Guide

Context: emergency, military, disaster, news

Tone: urgent

Do Say

• 山体滑坡后，省应急部门三小时内调集五百多名救援力量赶赴现场，全力营救被困人员。(After the landslide, the provincial emergency department dispatched more than 500 rescue workers within three hours and worked to rescue the trapped people.)
• 联合国已启动跨机构协调，联手多国救援队制定被困平民的营救和疏散方案，并要求交战方保障人道走廊安全。(The United Nations has activated inter-agency coordination, working with rescue teams from several countries to prepare a rescue and evacuation plan for trapped civilians, and has asked the warring sides to ensure the safety of humanitarian corridors.)

Don't Say

• 他营救了那只猫 — 营救 implies an organised, high-stakes rescue operation; for rescuing a pet from minor trouble use 救了那只猫 or 把那只猫救下来

Origin & History

营 (to operate/manage a camp — 火 fire + 宫 structure, originally a military encampment) + 救 (to rescue/save — 求 seek + 攴 action, seek to save by acting)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal