气球 (qì qiú) — balloon | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

balloon

Measure word · 个

Examples

气球。
Tā shēng rì nà tiān shōu dào le yí gè fěn sè de qì qiú.
She received a pink balloon on her birthday.
气球。
Xiǎo míng zài gōng yuán lǐ fàng fēi le yí gè qì qiú.
Xiao Ming released a balloon in the park.
气球。
Mā ma gěi hái zi mǎi le yí gè cǎi sè de qì qiú.
Mom bought a colorful balloon for the child.

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.

气qìgas/air

气 (gas/air) plus 球 (ball) gives a ball filled with gas.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Miscellaneous Objects

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