球鞋 (qiú xié) — athletic shoes, sneakers | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

athletic shoessneakers

Measure word · 双

Examples

球鞋。
Wǒ mǎi le yì shuāng xīn qiú xié.
I bought a new pair of sneakers.
球鞋。
Zhè shuāng qiú xié chuān qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
These sneakers feel very comfortable.
球鞋。
Tā chuān zhuó qiú xié qù cāo chǎng pǎo bù.
He wore sneakers to go running on the track.

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 'ball' + 鞋 'shoe' gives shoes for ball games or athletic shoes.

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.

革圭鞋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

革革géleather

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

鞋 puts 革 (leather) beside 圭 to show leather shoes; 圭 gives the sound and originally drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Appears in

Footwear & Accessories Sports & Athletics

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