羽毛球
yǔmáoqiú
In Chinese, the word for the racquet sport badminton is 羽毛球 (yǔmáoqiú).
The term 羽毛球 is a noun used to refer to the sport itself. To express the action of playing the sport, you should use the verb 打 (dǎ), meaning 'to hit', followed by the noun, forming the phrase 打羽毛球 (to play badminton).
Meaning: a racquet sport (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term 羽毛球 is composed of 羽毛 (feather) and 球 (ball/sphere), literally meaning 'feather ball'.
Which one should you use?
羽毛球 is the name of the sport. In contrast, 巴德明顿 is a phonetic transliteration used specifically for the proper noun or the English name of a place, such as the village in England.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
yǔmáoqiú
Did you know?
- Chinese has a specific term for 'shuttlecock' in a non-sporting context, called 毽子 (jiànzi), which is used in a traditional kicking game rather than with a racquet.
- The word 球 (qiú) in 羽毛球 is used for any spherical object, which is why the shuttlecock is called a 'ball' despite its conical shape.
- While English speakers use 'play' for most sports, Chinese uses 打 ('to hit') for 羽毛球 because it is played with a racket. This same verb is used for tennis and table tennis but not for sports involving feet like soccer.
Examples in context
- 他们常在这儿打羽毛球。They play badminton here often.This sentence shows how to describe where people often play 羽毛球.Tatoeba #1231595 by Tsetseg, translation #13103160 by araneo
- 他的羽毛球打得真厉害。He plays badminton very well.This sentence illustrates how to describe someone's skill level when playing 羽毛球.Tatoeba #12568849 by omerfarukckmk, translation #12568850 by omerfarukckmk
- 我以前常去打羽毛球，但現在不打了。I used to play badminton a lot, but I don’t play anymore.This sentence is useful for discussing past habits related to playing 羽毛球.Tatoeba #369122 by nickyeow, translation #13590008 by LeviHighway
- 他非常喜欢打羽毛球。He really enjoys playing badminton.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their hobbies at a park.
- 梓涵 Zihan你想去打羽毛球吗？Nǐ xiǎng qù dǎ yǔmáoqiú ma?Do you want to go play badminton?
- 俊杰 Junjie好啊，我正好带了球拍。Hǎo a, wǒ zhènghǎo dài le qiúpai.Sure, I just happened to bring my racquet.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们去那边的场地吧。Nà wǒmen qù nàbiān de chǎngdì ba.Then let's go to that court over there.
- 俊杰 Junjie没问题，走吧。Méi wèntí, zǒu ba.No problem, let's go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “badminton” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
