球形 (qiú xíng) — spherical, ball-shaped

Definition

adjective
sphericalball-shaped

Examples

  • 球形？
    Zhè ge qiú xíng wù tǐ shì shén me?
    What is this spherical object?
  • 球形。
    Dì qiú shì yí gè qiú xíng tiān tǐ.
    Earth is a spherical celestial body.
  • 球形。
    Tā shè jì le yí gè qiú xíng jiàn zhù.
    He designed a ball-shaped building.

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qiúball
形xíngshape

球 means ball and 形 means shape, describing something shaped like a ball.

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.

Open 球 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng形xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Open 形 →

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