弹球 (tán qiú) — to play marbles (the game) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to play marbles': split it as 弹…球 with a complement or object between (e.g. 弹了一会儿球). It refers specifically to the marble-shooting game, not to generic 'ball' play.

verb

to play marbles (the game)

Examples

弹球。
Tā xiǎo shí hou xǐ huan tán qiú.
He liked playing marbles when he was little.
。
Tā men tán le yí xià wǔ qiú.
They played marbles all afternoon.
弹球。
Fàng xué hòu wǒ men qù tán qiú ba.
Let's go play marbles after school.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

To 弹 a 球 is to play marbles.

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

弓單彈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

單

單dān彈tán

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

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a 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

Games & Puzzles

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