TongTong
Sign in

投篮 (tóu lán) — to shoot (a basketball)

Definition

Sports verb meaning to shoot (a basketball) — taking a shot at the hoop. 投 alone is the broader 'to throw/toss'; 篮 specifies the basket, so 投篮 is the basketball term.

verb
to shoot (a basketball)

Examples

  • 投篮。
    Tā jīng cháng liàn xí tóu lán.
    He often practices shooting baskets.
  • 。
    Tā tóu le yí gè piào liang de lán.
    He shot a beautiful basket.
  • ，。
    Zài bǐ sài zhōng, tā lián xù tóu jìn le sān gè lán.
    During the game, he made three consecutive baskets.

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
篮lánbasket

投 sends the ball, and 篮 names the basket being shot at.

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.

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 GamesSports & Athletics

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