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田径 (tián jìng) — track and field (athletics)

Definition

田径 (tiánjìng) is the sport category ‘track and field’ — the events themselves, not the running surface. Compare 跑道, which is the physical track or runway.

noun
track and field (athletics)

Examples

  • 田径。
    Tā shì yì míng yōu xiù de tián jìng yùn dòng yuán.
    He is an excellent track and field athlete.
  • 田径。
    Zhè suǒ xué xiào de tián jìng duì zài quán guó bǐ sài zhōng huò dé le guàn jūn.
    This school's track and field team won the championship in the national competition.
  • 田径。
    Wǒ měi tiān xià wǔ dōu qù cāo chǎng liàn xí tián jìng.
    I go to the playground every afternoon to practice track and field.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

田tiánfield
径jìngtrack

“田” (field) and “径” (track) stand together for the two kinds of running and field events.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

田 looks like a field divided into four sections.

Open 田 →

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 徑; 径 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng徑
Same sound today

The traditional form 徑 is built from 彳 and 巠, with 巠 giving the sound; the simplified 径 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 径 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Sports & Athletics

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