体坛 (tǐ tán) — the sports world, sports circles

Definition

Refers to the world of competitive sports as a social arena or industry — the community of athletes, teams, and events, not a single sport itself. Often used for media-style contexts ("体坛新闻", "体坛名人").

noun
the sports worldsports circles

Examples

  • 体坛。
    Tā zài zhōng guó tǐ tán hěn yǒu míng.
    He is very famous in the Chinese sports world.
  • 体坛。
    Zuì jìn tǐ tán lǐ yǒu hěn duō guān yú ào yùn huì de xīn wén.
    Recently there has been a lot of news about the Olympics in the sports world.
  • 体坛。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù mèng xiǎng jìn rù tǐ tán.
    She has dreamed of entering the sports world since childhood.

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.

体tǐsports
坛tánarena

体 (sports) and 坛 (arena) combine to mean the sports world.

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ體tǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.

Open 体 →

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 壇; 坛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
亶
亶dǎn壇tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壇 pairs 土 (earth) with 亶 as a sound component; the simplified 坛 is a later shorthand.

Open 坛 →

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