保龄球
bǎolíngqiú
The English word "bowling" is translated into Chinese as 保龄球 (bǎolíngqiú).
保龄球 refers to the game of bowling itself. To express the action of playing the game, you use the verb phrase 打保龄球, which combines the verb 打 (meaning to hit or to play) with the noun. If you need to refer to the location where the game is played, the term for a bowling alley is 保龄球馆.
Meaning: a game played by rolling a ball down an alley (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
In the term 保龄球, the character 龄 means age.
How do you pronounce it?
bǎolíngqiú
Did you know?
- The term 保龄球 is a phonetic transliteration of the English word 'bowling', meaning the Chinese characters were chosen primarily for how they sound rather than their literal meanings.
- Because the character 龄 means 'age', a literal translation of the name would be 'protecting age ball', which makes little sense in a sporting context.
- While 球 means 'ball' in 保龄球, the verb used to play it is 打, which literally means 'to hit'. This is the same verb used for tennis and basketball, despite the ball being rolled.
Examples in context
- 虽然我享受打保龄球，但是我最近没有去打保龄球。Even though I enjoy bowling, I haven't gone bowling recently.This sentence is useful for expressing that you enjoy the sport of 保龄球 but have not played it lately.Tatoeba #8658806 by slo_oth, translation #6337865 by CK
- 周末我喜歡去打保齡球On weekends, I like to go bowling.
- 这颗保龄球很重。Zhè kē bǎolíngqiú hěn zhòng.This bowling ball is very heavy.
- 他在商店买了一个新保龄球。Tā zài shāngdiàn mǎile yīgè xīn bǎolíngqiú.He bought a new bowling ball at the store.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their weekend plans.
- 俊杰 Junjie这个周末我们去打保龄球吧。Zhège zhōumò wǒmen qù dǎ bǎolíngqiú ba。Let's go bowling this weekend.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好啊，我很久没去了。Hǎo a, wǒ hěnjiǔ méi qù le。Sure, I haven't gone in a long time.
- 俊杰 Junjie你知道附近哪里有保龄球馆吗？Nǐ zhīdào fùjìn nǎlǐ yǒu bǎolíngqiú guǎn ma？Do you know where there is a bowling alley nearby?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我知道一个，就在超市对面。Wǒ zhīdào yīgè, jiù zài chāoshì duìmiàn。I know one, it's right opposite the supermarket.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
