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比赛 (bǐ sài) — competition, match, game (noun); to compete, to have a match (verb)

Definition

比赛 is a formal organized event — a 'competition or match' (a tennis match, a chess tournament) — unlike 游戏, which is for casual play. Use 比赛 for the noun 'the event' and the verb 'to compete in it'.

competitionmatchgame (noun)to competeto have a match (verb)
Measure word · 场, 次

Examples

  • 比赛。
    Wǒ men xué xiào míng tiān yǒu yì chǎng bǐ sài.
    Our school has a match tomorrow.
  • 比赛。
    Tā men bǐ sài le sān gè xiǎo shí.
    They competed for three hours.
  • 比赛？
    Nǐ xǐ huan kàn bǐ sài ma?
    Do you like watching competitions?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

比bǐcompete
赛sàicontest

比 and 赛 both mean to compete, so together they denote a contest or match.

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 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsSports & Athletics2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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