扣杀 (kòu shā) — to smash or spike (a ball in sports like volleyball, badminton, or table tennis)

Definition

A sports term for a hard overhead smash or spike (volleyball, badminton, table tennis) — a powerful attacking shot aimed downward. Not everyday speech; you'll only see it in sports contexts.

verb
to smash or spike (a ball in sports like volleyball, badminton, or table tennis)

Examples

  • 扣杀，。
    Tā tiào qǐ lái yòng lì kòu shā, qiú zhí jiē dé fēn.
    He jumped up and smashed hard, scoring directly.
  • 扣杀，。
    Zhè ge kòu shā jiǎo dù hěn diāo zuān, duì shǒu jiē bú zhù.
    This spike had a tricky angle, and the opponent couldn't return it.
  • 扣杀。
    Jiào liàn jiào wǒ men rú hé tí gāo kòu shā de zhǔn què xìng.
    The coach taught us how to improve the accuracy of our smashes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

扣kòustrike down
杀shāsmash

扣 and 杀 stand side by side, both giving the idea of striking a ball hard.

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
口
口kǒu扣kòu
Same sound today

扣 puts 手 (hand) beside 口 (mouth); 口 gives the sound, while 手 shows it is about a hand action.

Open 扣 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →

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