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投球 (tóu qiú) — to shoot (a ball, especially in basketball)

Definition

投球 (tóu qiú) means 'to shoot (a ball)' — chiefly basketball, but also used for throws in baseball or handball. The verb 投 itself means 'to throw'; 球 ('ball') specifies a ball sport.

verb
to shoot (a ball, especially in basketball)

Examples

  • 投球，。
    Tā tóu qiú hěn zhǔn, měi cì dōu néng dé fēn.
    He shoots very accurately and scores every time.
  • 。
    Gāng cái tā tóu le yí gè piào liang de sān fēn qiú.
    He just shot a beautiful three-pointer.
  • 投球。
    Wǒ liàn xí tóu qiú liàn le zhěng zhěng yí xià wǔ.
    I practiced shooting for the entire afternoon.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

投tóuthrow
球qiúball

“投” (throw) and “球” (ball) together mean throwing a ball, as in shooting.

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
殳
殳shū投tóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Open 投 →

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.

Open 球 →
Appears in
Ball GamesSports & Athletics

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