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接力赛 (jiē lì sài) — relay race

Definition

noun
relay race
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 接力赛，。
    Míng tiān xué xiào yào jǔ xíng jiē lì sài, měi gè bān dōu yào cān jiā.
    The school will hold a relay race tomorrow, and every class must participate.
  • 接力赛，。
    Tā zài jiē lì sài zhōng pǎo zuì hòu yí bàng, biǎo xiàn dé fēi cháng chū sè.
    He ran the last leg in the relay race and performed excellently.
  • 接力赛，。
    jiē lì sài Bù jǐn kǎo yàn sù dù, gèng kǎo yàn tuán duì hé zuò.
    A relay race tests not only speed but also teamwork.

Origin

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.

接力relay
接jiēreceive or pass力lìstrength
动宾Verb + object
赛sàirace

接力 is receiving and passing on strength, and 赛 is a race; together it is a relay race.

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shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

Open 力 →

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 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
塞
塞sāi賽sài
Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 is a later shorthand.

Open 赛 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

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