TongTong
Sign in

打拳 (dǎ quán) — to practice boxing; to shadowbox

Definition

打拳 means to practice boxing or shadowbox — a verbal phrase, not a noun. Translates roughly as 'do boxing', with 打 as the activity verb and 拳 (fist/boxing) as the object.

verb
to practice boxingto shadowbox

Examples

  • 打拳。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu qù gōng yuán dǎ quán.
    He goes to the park every morning to practice boxing.
  • ，。
    Tā dǎ le yí cì quán, gǎn jué hěn hǎo.
    He did a round of boxing and felt great.
  • 打拳。
    Yé ye nián qīng de shí hou xǐ huan dǎ quán.
    Grandpa liked to shadowbox when he was young.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎstrike
拳quánfist

打 means to strike or do; 拳 means fist or boxing, together it means to practice boxing.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
龹
龹龹拳quán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拳 pairs 手 (hand) with 龹 for sound. The hand part shows that the meaning is a form of hand, such as a fist.

Open 拳 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

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