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踢球 (tī qiú) — to kick a ball; to play football/soccer

Definition

踢球 is the everyday verb for kicking a ball or playing soccer — general and casual, covering both casual kicks and actual matches. The component 球 (ball) often drops out, as in 踢一场球.

verb
to kick a ballto play football/soccer

Examples

  • 踢球。
    Wǒ men yì qǐ qù tī qiú ba.
    Let's go play soccer together.
  • 。
    Zuó tiān wǒ men tī le yì chǎng qiú.
    Yesterday we played a game of soccer.
  • 踢球。
    Tā měi tiān xià wǔ dōu qù tī qiú.
    He goes to play soccer every afternoon.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

踢tīkick
球qiúball

踢 (kick) acts on 球 (ball), giving the action of kicking a ball or playing football.

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
易
易yì踢tī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

踢 uses 足 (foot) to show the action is done with the foot, and 易 to give the sound.

Open 踢 →

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.

Open 球 →
Appears in
Ball GamesSports & Athletics

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