个人赛 (gè rén sài) — individual competition; individual race (where participants compete as individuals rather than in teams)

Definition

A competition where each person competes alone, not as part of a team. Pairs naturally with its opposite 团体赛 ('team competition').

noun
individual competitionindividual race (where participants compete as individuals rather than in teams)

Examples

  • 个人赛。
    Zhè cì yùn dòng huì fēn wéi gè rén sài hé tuán tǐ sài.
    This sports meet is divided into individual and team competitions.
  • 个人赛。
    Tā bào míng cān jiā le yǔ máo qiú gè rén sài.
    He signed up to participate in the badminton individual competition.
  • 个人赛。
    gè rén sài De guàn jūn jiāng huò dé yì méi jīn pái.
    The champion of the individual competition will receive a gold medal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

个人individual
个gèsingle人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
赛sàicompetition

个人 (“individual”) + 赛 (“competition”) describes a competition where participants are individuals.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 個; 个 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
固
固gù個ge
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 个, the form 個 pairs 亻 (person) with 固 as a sound part.

Open 个 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
塞
塞sāi賽sài
Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 is a later shorthand.

Open 赛 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.