持球 (chí qiú) — to hold the ball; to have possession of the bal… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A basketball (and similar sports) term meaning 'to hold/have possession of the ball' — used as a verb-object phrase describing a player's state in play, not a generic 'hold a ball'.

verb

to hold the ballto have possession of the ball (in sports)

Examples

持球。
Tā zài chǎng shàng chí qiú shí jiān tài cháng.
He held the ball too long on the court.
持球。
Zhè wèi qiú yuán chí qiú néng lì hěn qiáng.
This player's ball-handling ability is very strong.
持球，。
Duì fāng chí qiú shí, wǒ men yào xiǎng bàn fǎ qiǎng duàn.
When the opponent has the ball, we need to find a way to steal it.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

“持” means hold and “球” means ball, so it means holding the ball.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì持chí

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

持 combines 手 (hand), for the idea of holding, with 寺, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

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