发球权 (fā qiú quán) — right to serve (in sports), service possession

Definition

"Right to serve" in racket or ball sports — possession of the serve in a game, set, or point. Used as a noun (e.g. 赢得发球权, 交换发球权).

noun
right to serve (in sports)service possession

Examples

  • 发球权。
    Xiàn zài lún dào duì fāng fā qiú quán le.
    Now it's the opponent's turn to serve.
  • 发球权。
    Tā yíng dé le dì yī jú de fā qiú quán.
    He won the right to serve in the first game.
  • 发球权。
    Cái pàn xuān bù jiāo huàn fā qiú quán.
    The referee announced a change of service.

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.

发球serve
发fāsend球qiúball
动宾Verb + object
权quánright

发球 (serve) and 权 (right) name the right to serve.

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 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →

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