跳台 (tiào tái) — diving platform (in competitive diving); landing platform (in skiing or other sports)

Definition

A raised platform from which an athlete jumps — specifically a diving platform in pool sports or a takeoff/landing ramp in aerial skiing. Height and structure vary by sport.

noun
diving platform (in competitive diving)landing platform (in skiing or other sports)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 跳台，。
    Tā cóng shí mǐ tiào tái shàng tiào xià lái, dòng zuò fēi cháng wán měi.
    She jumped off the ten-meter platform with perfect form.
  • 跳台，。
    Zhè ge tiào tái de gāo dù shì wǔ mǐ, shì hé chū xué zhě liàn xí.
    This diving platform is five meters high, suitable for beginners to practice.
  • ，跳台。
    Huá xuě bǐ sài zhōng, yùn dòng yuán cóng tiào tái shàng fēi chū.
    In ski competitions, athletes fly off the landing platform.

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.

跳tiàojump/dive
台táiplatform

The 台 is a platform for 跳, so 跳台 means a diving or landing platform.

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào跳tiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

跳 pairs 足 (foot) with 兆, which supplies the sound; the foot part shows the action is done with the feet.

Open 跳 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Open 台 →

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