马球 (mǎ qiú) — polo | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

polo

Measure word · 场

Examples

马球。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xǐ huan dǎ mǎ qiú.
He has liked playing polo since he was young.
马球。
Zhè chǎng mǎ qiú bǐ sài xī yǐn le hěn duō rén guān kàn.
This polo match attracted many spectators.
马球。
Tā zhuān mén qù měng gǔ xué xí guò mǎ qiú.
She went specifically to Mongolia to learn polo.

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.

马 means horse and 球 means ball, naming a ball game played on horseback.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

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.

Appears in

Ball Games Sports & Athletics

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