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相扑 (xiàng pū) — sumo wrestling

Definition

相扑 (xiāng pū) is the Chinese name for the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. In Chinese it usually refers specifically to the Japanese sport, not generic wrestling.

noun
sumo wrestling
Measure word · 项

Examples

  • ？
    Nǐ xǐ huan kàn xiàng pū bǐ sài ma?
    Do you like watching sumo matches?
  • 相扑。
    Rì běn de xiàng pū xuǎn shǒu shēn cái dōu hěn gāo dà.
    Japanese sumo wrestlers all have very large builds.
  • 相扑。
    Zhè cì lǚ yóu wǒ qù le xiàng pū bó wù guǎn.
    I visited the sumo museum on this trip.

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.

相xiāngmutual
扑pūpush

相 suggests mutual action, 扑 suggests pushing, together naming sumo wrestling.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ扑pū
Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

Open 扑 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

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