篮球
lánqiú
The English word 'basketball' is 篮球 (lánqiú) in Chinese.
篮球 refers to the sport of basketball. When expressing the action of playing the sport, you use the verb 打 (dǎ), which literally means 'to hit' or 'to strike', combined with the noun: 打篮球 means 'to play basketball'.
Meaning: the sport (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 篮球 is composed of two parts: 篮 (lán), meaning 'basket' and 球 (qiú), meaning 'ball'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
While 篮球 is the standard term, the form 籃球 is also a common way to write basketball and is prevalent among Chinese speakers in Taiwan.
How do you pronounce it?
lánqiú
Did you know?
- In Chinese, the verb 打 (dǎ) is used for 篮球 because it is played with the hands, while sports played with the feet, like soccer, use the verb 踢 (tī).
- The character 篮 (lán) used in 篮球 is a radical-based character that specifically contains the 'bamboo' radical 竹, reflecting how baskets were historically constructed in many East Asian cultures.
- The term 篮 (lán) is shared with 篮子 (lánzi), the word for any kind of basket, showing that the Chinese name for the sport is a direct literal translation of the English term.
Examples in context
- 我不打篮球。I don't play basketball.This sentence is useful for expressing that you do not play 篮球.Tatoeba #9958369 by GlossaMatik, translation #6270806 by CK
- 篮球可真是有意思。Basketball is a lot of fun.This sentence is useful for expressing that 篮球 is fun.Tatoeba #6020854 by verdastelo9604, translation #35409 by CK
- 汤姆和朋友们打了整个下午篮球。Tom and his friends played basketball all afternoon.This sentence is useful for describing playing 篮球 for a duration of time.Tatoeba #5780548 by verdastelo9604, translation #3417419 by CK
- 你会打篮球吗？Do you know how to play basketball?
- 我喜歡打籃球。I like playing basketball.
- 你打球吗？Do you play basketball?
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two students are talking about their after-school plans.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，你想去打篮球吗？Yǔtíng, nǐ xiǎng qù dǎ lánqiú ma?Yuting, do you want to play basketball?
- 雨婷 Yuting我不太会打篮球。Wǒ bù tài huì dǎ lánqiú.I'm not very good at playing basketball.
- 浩然 Haoran没关系，我可以教你打篮球。Méiguānxì, wǒ kěyǐ jiāo nǐ dǎ lánqiú.That's okay, I can teach you how to play basketball.
- 雨婷 Yuting太好了，谢谢浩然！Tài hǎole, xièxiè Hàorán!Great, thanks Haoran!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
