球坛 (qiú tán) — ball sports circles; the world of ball games (b… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'ball circles', it means the world / scene of competitive ball sports — the people, teams, and events of basketball, soccer, tennis, etc. Used like a collective noun for the field as a whole.

noun

ball sports circlesthe world of ball games (basketball, soccer, tennis, etc.)

Examples

球坛。
Tā zài qiú tán shàng hěn yǒu míng qì.
He is very famous in the ball sports world.
球坛。
Zhè wèi jiào liàn zài qiú tán fèn dòu le sān shí nián.
This coach has struggled for thirty years in the ball sports circles.
球坛。
qiú tán Xīn wén jīn tiān bào dào le zhè chǎng bǐ sài.
Ball sports news reported this match today.

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.

球 points to ball sports, and 坛 is the circle or arena for them.

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

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.

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 壇; 坛 is its simplified writing.

土亶壇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亶

亶dǎn壇tán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壇 pairs 土 (earth) with 亶 as a sound component; the simplified 坛 is a later shorthand.

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