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自由式 (zì yóu shì) — freestyle (swimming); freestyle (in sports such as skiing, skating, etc.)

Definition

A compound used in sports for a discipline with no fixed pattern (swimming stroke, skiing, skating). Plain-English term: just the category name after the sport (五十米自由式, 自由式滑雪).

noun
freestyle (swimming)freestyle (in sports such as skiing, skating, etc.)

Examples

  • 自由式，。
    Tā shàn cháng zì yóu shì, tè bié shì wǔ shí mǐ zì yóu shì.
    He is good at freestyle, especially the 50-meter freestyle.
  • 自由式。
    Zhè cì dōng jì ào yùn huì zēng jiā le xīn de zì yóu shì huá xuě xiàng mù.
    This Winter Olympics added a new freestyle skiing event.
  • 自由式，。
    Zhè zhǒng wǔ dǎo shì yì zhǒng zì yóu shì, méi yǒu gù dìng guī zé.
    This dance is a kind of free form, with no fixed rules.

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.

自由free
自zìself由yóufollow
偏正Modifier + head
式shìform/style

自由 means following oneself; 式 gives a form or style.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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

It began as a drawing of new shoots or leaves growing upward from a plant-like base.

Open 由 →

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
工工gōngwork
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì式shì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

式 pairs 工, meaning work, with 弋, which gives the sound.

Open 式 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

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