HSK · Level 12
135 words
Chinese word
球
Pronunciation
Pinyinqiú
Meaning
- nounball
Example
孩子们喜欢玩球。hái zi men xǐ huān wán qiú
The children like to play with balls.
More examples
他在院子里踢球。tā zài yuàn zi lǐ tī qiú
He is kicking a ball in the yard.
Core concept
A three-dimensional round shape, from a toy that rolls to the ideal form studied in geometry.
Common phrases
踢球tī qiú
kick a ball
玩球wán qiú
play with a ball
Similar words
足球zú qiú: A ball used to play soccer.
篮球lán qiú: A ball used to play basketball.
乒乓球pīng pāng qiú: A small, light ball used to play table tennis.
Definition in Chinese
一种近似圆形的三维物体，通常指可滚动或用于游戏与运动的球状物。yì zhǒng jìn sì yuán xíng de sān wéi wù tǐ tōng cháng zhǐ kě gǔn dòng huò yòng yú yóu xì yǔ yùn dòng de qiú zhuàng wù
Word origin
The character 球 (qiú, "ball") is a phono-semantic compound: 玉 (yù, "jade") suggests a rounded precious stone and 求 (qiú, "seek") supplies the pronunciation.
Usage tips
- In sports names, the activity is often placed before this word, so the same final character helps identify different kinds of sports equipment.