邀请赛 (yāo qǐng sài) — invitational tournament

Definition

noun
invitational tournament
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 邀请赛。
    Zhè ge yāo qǐng sài xī yǐn le hěn duō guó jì xuǎn shǒu.
    This invitational tournament attracted many international players.
  • 邀请赛。
    Míng nián jiāng jǔ bàn yì chǎng dà xíng yāo qǐng sài.
    Next year, a large invitational tournament will be held.
  • 邀请赛，。
    Tā cān jiā le wǎng qiú yāo qǐng sài, bìng huò dé le guàn jūn.
    He participated in a tennis invitational tournament and won the championship.

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.

邀请invite
邀yāoinvite请qǐnginvite
联合Side by side
赛sàicompetition

邀请 (invite) and 赛 (competition) combine to mean an invitational tournament.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo邀yāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

邀 pairs 辶, a walking part, with 敫, which gives the sound.

Open 邀 →

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 請; 请 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng請qǐng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 請, 言 shows it relates to speaking, and 青 gives the sound; the simplified 请 is a later shorter form.

Open 请 →

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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