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扣篮 (kòu lán) — to slam dunk (in basketball)

Definition

扣篮 (kòu lán) is the standard basketball term for 'to slam dunk' — a single action verb, not a compound to split. Used in sports commentary and casual talk alike.

verb
to slam dunk (in basketball)

Examples

  • 扣篮。
    Tā tiào qǐ lái kòu lán le.
    He jumped up and dunked.
  • 。
    Tā kòu le yí gè piào liang de lán.
    He made a beautiful dunk.
  • 扣篮。
    Zhè ge qiú yuán zuì xǐ huan kòu lán.
    This player likes to dunk the most.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

扣kòudunk
篮lánbasket

“扣” (dunk) + “篮” (basket) yields dunking a basketball.

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 →

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 籃; 篮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
監
監jiān籃lán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 籃 puts 竹 (bamboo) over 監, which gives the sound; the simplified 篮 is a later shorthand.

Open 篮 →
Appears in
Ball Games

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