越野赛 (yuè yě sài) — cross-country race; off-road race

Definition

noun
cross-country raceoff-road race
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 越野赛。
    Tā cān jiā le jīn nián de mǎ lā sōng yuè yě sài.
    He took part in this year's marathon cross-country race.
  • 越野赛。
    Qì chē yuè yě sài zài shā mò zhōng jǔ xíng.
    The off-road car race is held in the desert.
  • 越野赛。
    Zì xíng chē yuè yě sài xū yào hěn gāo de jì qiǎo.
    Cross-country cycling requires very high skill.

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.

越野cross-country
越yuècross野yěopen country
动宾Verb + object
赛sàirace

“越” means to cross, “野” means open country, and “赛” means race, so it names a race across open country.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒuto walk or run
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè越yuè
Same sound today

越 is built from 走 (to walk or run) and 戉 (which supplies the sound); the 走 part shows the idea of going over or crossing.

Open 越 →

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
田田tiánfield
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ野yě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

野 combines 田 (field) above 土 (earth) to show open country, with 予 giving the sound.

Open 野 →

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 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
塞
塞sāi賽sài
Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 is a later shorthand.

Open 赛 →

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