平局 (píng jú) — draw; tie (in a game or competition)

Definition

noun
drawtie (in a game or competition)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 平局
    Zhè chǎng zú qiú bǐ sài zuì hòu yǐ píng jú jié shù.
    This football match ended in a draw.
  • 平局
    Shuāng fāng qí lì xiāng dāng, xià le yì pán píng jú.
    The two players are evenly matched; they played a tie game of chess.
  • 平局
    Suī rán dǎ chéng le píng jú, dàn liǎng duì dōu hěn mǎn yì.
    Although it ended in a draw, both teams were satisfied.

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.

game

平 means level or tied, 局 means game, so the whole names a game ending level.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

The shape of 局 pairs 尸, a meaning part, with 句, a sound part.

Open 局 →

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