拉登 (Lādēng): (Osama) bin Laden (1957–2011), Saudi-born founder of Al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks

Meanings

1 (Osama) bin Laden (1957–2011), Saudi-born founder of Al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks

Characters

拉

lā

to pull (transliteration)

登

dēng

to climb, to ascend (transliteration)

Examples

拉登是基地组织的创始人。

Lādēng shì Jīdì Zǔzhī de chuàngshǐ rén.

Bin Laden was the founder of Al-Qaeda.

2011年拉登在巴基斯坦被美军击毙。

2011 nián Lādēng zài Bājīsītǎn bèi Měijūn jībì.

In 2011, bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan.

Tips

history

In Chinese media bin Laden's full name is usually rendered 奥萨马·本·拉登 (Àosàmǎ Běn Lādēng), but single-word '拉登' is the standard shorthand. He was killed on May 2, 2011 in a US Navy SEAL raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

culture

The '9·11事件' drove waves of late-Cold-War Chinese op-eds on US hegemony and Middle East policy; bin Laden himself became a shorthand pop-culture reference for any bearded loner hiding out in hostile terrain — comparable to the way '本·拉登同款' pops up ironically online for rural cave selfies.