头球 (tóu qiú) — (soccer) header | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

(soccer) header

Measure word · 个

Examples

头球。
Tā jìn le yí gè piào liang de tóu qiú.
He scored a beautiful header.
头球。
Zhè ge tóu qiú de lì liàng fēi cháng dà.
The power of this header was very strong.
头球。
Tā yòng tóu qiú bǎ qiú dǐng jìn qù le.
He used a header to head the ball in.

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.

The idea of 头 as head combined with 球 as ball gives a ball struck with the head.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu頭tóu

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

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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