径赛 (jìng sài) — track events (in athletics)

Definition

Track events at a track-and-field meet — running on the track, as opposed to 田赛 (field events like jumping and throwing).

noun
track events (in athletics)
Measure word · 项
Easily confused

Examples

  • 径赛。
    Tā cān jiā le nán zǐ yì bǎi mǐ jìng sài.
    He participated in the men's 100-meter track event.
  • 径赛。
    jìng sài Hé tián sài shì ào yùn huì de zhòng yào xiàng mù.
    Track and field events are important Olympic sports.
  • 径赛。
    Xué xiào yùn dòng huì yǒu hěn duō jìng sài xiàng mù.
    The school sports meet has many track events.

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.

径jìngtrack
赛sàicompetition

径 names the track and 赛 names the competition, so 径赛 means track events.

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 徑; 径 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng徑
Same sound today

The traditional form 徑 is built from 彳 and 巠, with 巠 giving the sound; the simplified 径 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 径 →

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 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
塞
塞sāi賽sài
Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 is a later shorthand.

Open 赛 →

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