拳坛 (quán tán) — boxing circles, boxing world

Definition

Refers to the boxing world — the community and scene around professional boxing as a whole, not the sport itself (that's 拳击).

noun

boxing circlesboxing world

拳坛。
Tā zài quán tán shàng hěn yǒu míng.
He is very famous in the boxing world.
拳坛。
Zhè wèi quán jī shǒu zài quán tán fèn dòu le èr shí nián.
This boxer has struggled in the boxing world for twenty years.
拳坛。
quán tán De xīn guī zé yǐn qǐ le hěn duō tǎo lùn.
The new rules in the boxing world caused a lot of discussion.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

拳 points to boxing and 坛 to an arena or circle, so the sense is the boxing world.

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.

龹手拳

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

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 壇; 坛 is its simplified writing.

土亶壇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亶

亶dǎn壇tán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壇 pairs 土 (earth) with 亶 as a sound component; the simplified 坛 is a later shorthand.

Appears in