半决赛 (bàn jué sài) — semifinals (in sports or other competitions) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

semifinals (in sports or other competitions)

Measure word · 场

Examples

半决赛。
Tā men yǐ yā dǎo xìng yōu shì jìn rù le bàn jué sài.
They entered the semifinals with an overwhelming advantage.
半决赛，。
Zhè chǎng bàn jué sài de bǐ sài fēi cháng jī liè, guān zhòng dōu bǐng zhù le hū xī.
This semifinal match was very intense; the audience held their breath.
半决赛，。
Yíng dé bàn jué sài hòu, tā men jiāng zhēng duó guàn jūn.
After winning the semifinals, they will compete for 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.

决赛decisive match

决juédecisive赛sàimatch

偏正Modifier + head

"半" half and "决赛" decisive match: the round before the decisive match.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

八八bāto divide
牛牛niúcow

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

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 決; 决 is its simplified writing.

氵夬決

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

夬

夬guài決jué

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 決 has 氵 (water) and 夬, which gives the sound. This describes 決, not the simplified 决.

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.

Appears in

Sports & Athletics

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