好球 (hǎo qiú) — (in sports) a good shot, throw, or pitch; (baseball) a strike

Definition

Used as a shout of approval for a skillful play, similar to 'nice shot!' or 'well played!'. In baseball it specifically means a 'strike' pitched by the pitcher.

noun
(in sports) a good shotthrowor pitch(baseball) a strike
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 好球
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng dǎ chū le hǎo jǐ gè hǎo qiú.
    He made several good shots in the game.
  • 好球
    Nà ge hǎo qiú ràng duì wu yíng dé le bǐ sài.
    That strike made the team win the game.
  • 好球
    Jiào liàn chēng zàn le zhè ge hǎo qiú.
    The coach praised this good pitch.

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.

好 'good' and 球 'ball' combine to mean a good shot or pitch.

Characters in this word

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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
jade
Sound part声符shēngfú
qiúqiú
Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Open 球 →
Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.