网坛 (wǎng tán) — tennis circles; the tennis world

Definition

Literally 'tennis circles,' meaning the professional tennis world and its community of players, events, and fans. Used mainly in sports journalism to refer to the scene as a whole rather than a specific person or match.

noun
tennis circlesthe tennis world

Examples

  • 网坛。
    Zuì jìn wǎng tán yǒu hěn duō xīn xīng chū xiàn.
    Recently, many new stars have appeared in tennis circles.
  • 网坛。
    Zhè wèi xuǎn shǒu zài wǎng tán yǐ jīng huó yuè le èr shí nián.
    This player has been active in the tennis world for twenty years.
  • 网坛。
    Jīn nián de wǎng tán sài shì jìng zhēng fēi cháng jī liè.
    This year's tennis tournament competition is very fierce.

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.

网wǎngnet
坛táncircle

网 refers to tennis or the net, and 坛 means a circle or field; together they denote the tennis 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 網; 网 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
罔
罔wǎng網wǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 網 pairs 糸 (rope) with 罔 to give the sound; the simplified 网 is a later shorthand.

Open 网 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.