皮球 (pí qiú) — rubber ball | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

rubber ball

Measure word · 个

Examples

皮球。
Dì di bǎ pí qiú rēng dào shù shàng le.
My little brother threw the rubber ball up into the tree.
皮球，。
Ná yí gè pí qiú lái, wǒ men zài yuàn zi lǐ tī.
Bring a rubber ball — we'll kick it around in the yard.
皮球，。
Zhè zhǒng pí qiú tán xìng hěn hǎo, shì hé hái zi wán.
This type of rubber ball has great bounce and is suitable for kids to play with.

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.

皮píleather

The meaning comes from 皮 specifying the material of 球, a leather or rubber ball.

Characters in this word

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

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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