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比武 (bǐ wǔ) — (noun) martial arts competition, tournament; (verb) to compete in martial arts, to spar (in a competitive context)

Definition

A 'martial arts competition / tournament' — concrete event with a 场 measure word, focused on armed or kung-fu-style sparring rather than modern sport.

noun
martial arts competitiontournament
verb
to compete in martial artsto spar (in a competitive context)
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 比武！
    Zhè chǎng bǐ wǔ tài jīng cǎi le!
    This martial arts competition was so exciting!
  • ，。
    Tā men bǐ le yì chǎng wǔ, bù fēn shèng fù.
    They had a martial arts match, and neither won.
  • 比武。
    Qù nián de bǐ wǔ bàn dé hěn chéng gōng.
    Last year's martial arts competition was very successful.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

比bǐcompare/compete
武wǔmartial arts

比 (compare/compete) plus 武 (martial arts) means testing or competing in martial skill.

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.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

武 puts 戈 (dagger-axe) above 止 (foot/to walk), showing an army going on an expedition.

Open 武 →
Appears in
Sports & Athletics

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