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对弈 (duì yì) — to play a board game (such as go or Chinese chess)

Definition

Literary verb for two people playing a board game face-to-face, especially go or Chinese chess. More formal and competitive in tone than the broader 博弈.

verb
to play a board game (such as go or Chinese chess)

Examples

  • 对弈。
    Tā jīng cháng zài diàn nǎo shàng duì yì.
    He often plays chess on the computer.
  • 对弈。
    Liǎng wèi dà shī duì yì le sān gè xiǎo shí.
    The two masters played chess for three hours.
  • 对弈。
    Wǒ xǐ huan hé péng you yì qǐ duì yì.
    I like to play chess with friends.

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.

对duìfacing
弈yìplay chess

「对」 adds the sense of facing each other, and 「弈」 means playing chess, giving a board game match.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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