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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

一觸即發

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵ fä⁵⁵/
could break out or flare up at any time (of a situation); on the verge of crisis; in a tense and volatile situation
  • 一触即发
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Etymology graph

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Origin

The phrase 一觸即發 is composed of four characters: 一 (one), 觸 (to touch; to come in contact with), 即 (to come near to eat), and 發 (to shoot; to launch).

The character 觸 is formed with the semantic component 角 (horn; antler) and the phonetic component 蜀 (the name of a state in ancient China). The character 即 consists of the components 皀 (prepared food, a vessel full of food) and 卩 (a kneeling person).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese一 “one”
  • characterChinese觸 “to touch; to come in contact with”
    • meaningChinese角 “horn; antler”
    • soundChinese蜀 “the name of a state in ancient China”
  • characterChinese即 “to come near to eat”
    • ideaChinese皀 “Prepared food, a vessel full of food (as in 即 and 既, in which is simplified)”
    • ideaChinese卩 “kneeling person”
  • characterChinese發 “to shoot; to launch”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. could break out or flare up at any time (of a situation); on the verge of crisis; in a tense and volatile situation

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 比喻情勢非常緊急，隨時會發生變化。 例：兩軍對壘，雙方都嚴陣以待，已達一觸即發的地步。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0