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环球 (huán qiú) — to travel around the world; to go on a world tour

Definition

As a verb, 环球 means to travel around the world. 全球 is a noun/adjective meaning 'global, worldwide' (e.g. 全球市场, 'the global market') — a part of speech and sense that does not overlap with this verb.

verb
to travel around the worldto go on a world tour

Examples

  • 环球。
    Tā mèng xiǎng huán qiú yí cì.
    He dreams of traveling around the world once.
  • 环球。
    Zhè wèi tàn xiǎn jiā yǐ jīng huán qiú liǎng cì le.
    This explorer has already traveled around the world twice.
  • 环球。
    Zhè cì huán qiú huì jīng guò sān dà yáng.
    This world tour will pass through three major oceans.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

环huáncircle/surround
球qiúglobe

环 (circle/surround) and 球 (globe) together mean going around the globe.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

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.

Open 球 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Travel & Tourism

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.