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选手 (xuǎn shǒu) — contestant, player, athlete (in a competition or game)

Definition

选手 refers to a contestant or player in a specific event or match — anyone competing, not only athletes. 运动员 specifically means an athlete (sports professional).

noun
contestantplayerathlete (in a competition or game)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 选手。
    Měi wèi xuǎn shǒu dōu xī wàng yíng dé bǐ sài.
    Every contestant hopes to win the competition.
  • 选手。
    Zhè wèi nián qīng de xuǎn shǒu hěn yǒu shí lì.
    This young player is very strong.
  • 选手。
    Sān hào xuǎn shǒu dì yī gè wán chéng le rèn wu.
    Contestant number three completed the task first.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

选xuǎnchoose
手shǒuperson

选 “choose” and 手 “person” together mean a person chosen to take part in a competition.

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 選; 选 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巽
巽xùn選xuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 選 combines 止 with 巽, which gives the sound xùn; its sense of choosing is explained as rejecting or sending someone back. Simplified 选 is a shorthand.

Open 选 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
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