Chinese word

网球

Pronunciation

Pinyinwǎng qiú

Meaning

  • nountennis

Example

我们周末去打网球吧。wǒ men zhōu mò qù dá wǎng qiú ba

Let's go play tennis this weekend.

Illustration for 网球 (tennis)

More examples

他每天打网球，身体很好。tā měi tiān dá wǎng qiú shēn tǐ hěn hǎo

He plays tennis every day and is very healthy.

Core concept

A court game in which a net separates two sides and a racket sends the ball back and forth to win points.

Common phrases

  • 打网球dá wǎng qiú

    play tennis

  • 去打网球qù dá wǎng qiú

    go play tennis

Similar words

篮球lán qiú: A team sport in which players use their hands to put a ball through a hoop.
足球zú qiú: A team sport in which players mainly kick a ball into the other team's goal.
乒乓球pīng pāng qiú: An indoor sport in which players hit a small ball over a net with paddles to score points.
运动yùn dòng: Physical activity done to stay healthy or have fun.

Definition in Chinese

一种在场地两侧通过网互相击球以取得分数的球类运动，通常使用球拍。yì zhǒng zài chǎng dì liǎng cè tōng guò wǎng hù xiāng jī qiú yǐ qǔ dé fēn shù de qiú lèi yùn dòng tōng cháng shǐ yòng qiú pāi

Word origin

The compound joins 网 (wǎng, "net") and 球 (qiú, "ball"), naming the game by its net and ball.

Usage tips

  • English usually says play for this activity, but Chinese uses the action verb 打 (dǎ, "to hit") with many sports, so the verb does not mean that the sport itself is being struck.

Related words

  • 网球拍wǎng qiú pāitennis racketnoun
  • 网球场wǎng qiú chǎngtennis courtnoun

Word lists with this word