踢皮球 (tī pí qiú) — (literal) a game of kicking a ball; to kick a ball; (figurative) to pass the buck; to shift responsibility onto others

Definition

Literal meaning: kick a ball (like in a casual game). Figuratively, it means to pass the buck — everyone pushes responsibility to someone else so nothing gets solved.

verb
(literal) a game of kicking a ballto kick a ball(figurative) to pass the buckto shift responsibility onto others

Examples

  • ，踢皮球。
    Zhè ge wèn tí shuí dōu bù guǎn, dà jiā dōu zài tī pí qiú.
    Nobody wants to deal with this problem; everyone is passing the buck.
  • ，。
    Tā men tī le yí gè yuè de pí qiú, zuì hòu hái shì méi jiě jué.
    They passed the buck for a whole month and still didn't solve it.
  • 踢皮球，。
    Xiǎo shí hou wǒ men cháng zài xiàng zi lǐ tī pí qiú, wán dé hěn kāi xīn.
    When we were kids we often kicked a ball around in the alley and had a great time.

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
皮球leather ball
皮píleather/skin球qiúball
偏正Modifier + head

To 踢 a 皮球 is literally kicking a leather ball, and figuratively passing the buck.

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 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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 →

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