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游戏 (yóu xì) — game

Definition

游戏 is a 'game' you play for fun (video games, board games, children's play). 比 is a competitive match with winners and losers — 比赛 is the event, not the activity.

noun
game
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 游戏。
    Hái zi men zài yuàn zi lǐ wán yóu xì.
    The children are playing games in the yard.
  • 游戏。
    Wǒ zuì jìn xǐ huan wán shǒu jī yóu xì.
    I've been enjoying playing mobile games lately.
  • 游戏。
    Zhè chǎng yóu xì xū yào liǎng gè rén yì qǐ wán.
    This game requires two people to play together.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

游yóuplay
戏xìgame

游 and 戏 combine as play and game, giving the sense of playing a game.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →
Appears in
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