Chinese word

乒乓球

Pronunciation

Pinyinpīng pāng qiú

Meaning

  • nountable tennis

Example

我们周末去公园打乒乓球。wǒ men zhōu mò qù gōng yuán dǎ pīng pāng qiú

We go to the park to play table tennis on weekends.

Illustration for 乒乓球 (table tennis)

More examples

大学的乒乓球队训练很刻苦。dà xué de pīng pāng qiú duì xùn liàn hěn kè kǔ

The university table tennis team trains very hard.

Core concept

A fast back-and-forth paddle game built around a small ball crossing a table, with the ball itself sharing the game's name.

Common phrases

  • 打乒乓球dǎ pīng pāng qiú

    play table tennis

  • 乒乓球比赛pīng pāng qiú bǐ sài

    table tennis match

  • 乒乓球拍pīng pāng qiú pāi

    table tennis paddle

Similar words

桌球zhuō qiú: A name used mainly in Taiwan for the sport of table tennis.
羽毛球yǔ máo qiú: A racket sport in which players hit a light shuttlecock over a net.
网球wǎng qiú: A racket sport in which players hit a hard ball over a net on a large court.

Definition in Chinese

指在桌面上用拍互相击打的小而轻的球，也指以该球进行的桌面运动。zhǐ zài zhuō miàn shàng yòng pāi hù xiāng jī dǎ de xiǎo ér qīng de qiú yě zhǐ yǐ gāi qiú jìn xíng de zhuō miàn yùn dòng

Word origin

In 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú, "ping-pong ball"), 乒 (pīng, "ping") + 乓 (pāng, "pong") suggest repeated impacts, and 球 (qiú, "ball") names the object at the center of the game.

Usage tips

  • In mainland China, this is the standard term, while learners may meet a different regional name for the same sport elsewhere in the Chinese-speaking world.

Other meanings

  • ping-pong ballnoun

Related words

  • 乒乓球队pīng pāng qiú duìtable tennis teamnoun
  • 乒乓球运动pīng pāng qiú yùn dòngtable tennis as a sportnoun

Word lists with this word