圆球 (yuán qiú) — ball, sphere, globe | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ballsphereglobe

Measure word · 个

Examples

圆球。
Dì qiú shì yí gè jù dà de yuán qiú.
The Earth is a huge sphere.
圆球。
Tā bǎ yuán qiú rēng gěi le wǒ.
He threw the ball to me.
圆球。
Zhè ge yuán qiú de zhí jìng shì shí lí mǐ.
The diameter of this sphere is ten centimeters.

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.

The sense of 圆 (round) and 球 (ball) together describe a spherical object.

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 圓; 圆 is its simplified writing.

囗員圓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéi

Sound part声符shēngfú

員

員yuán圓yuán

Same sound today

This is about the traditional form 圓, not the simplified 圆. In 圓, 囗 surrounds 員, and the inner part of 員 is an old circle picture.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú球qiú

Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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