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运球 (yùn qiú) — to dribble (a ball, in basketball or other sports)

Definition

运球 means 'to dribble' a ball (bouncing it while running) in basketball or similar sports. A separable verb: insert 了, 了好 or a numeral between 运 and 球 (e.g. 运了三次球).

verb
to dribble (a ball, in basketball or other sports)

Examples

  • 运球，。
    Tā yùn qiú hěn hǎo, hěn shǎo diū qiú.
    He dribbles very well and rarely loses the ball.
  • 。
    Tā yùn le sān cì qiú cái bǎ qiú chuán chū qù.
    He dribbled three times before passing the ball.
  • 运球。
    Jiào liàn yāo qiú wǒ men měi tiān liàn xí yùn qiú.
    The coach requires us to practice dribbling every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

运yùnmove
球qiúball

运 means move, 球 is ball; moving the ball describes dribbling.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn運yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →

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 →
Appears in
Ball GamesSports & Athletics

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