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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "basketball" in Chinese?
篮球
lán qiú
In Chinese, "basketball" is 篮球.
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Pronunciation
Say 'lahn' (rising tone) then 'chyou' (rising tone). Two syllables.
Writing and usage
Two characters. 篮 means basket (sixteen strokes), 球 means ball (eleven strokes). Literally 'basket ball'.
Example sentence
篮球比赛明天。
The basketball game is tomorrow.
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How to remember 篮球
篮 contains the bamboo radical and shows a basket shape. 篮球 is straightforward: ball and basket.
Related words
- baseball 棒球 bàng qiú
- bat 球棒 qiú bàng
- bicycle 自行车 zì xíng chē
- field hockey 陆上曲棍球 lù shàng qū gùn qiú
- horse riding 马术 mǎ shù
- ice hockey 冰上曲棍球 bīng shàng qū gùn qiú
- squash 壁球 bì qiú
- weightlifting 举重 jǔ zhòng
- wrestling 摔跤 shuāi jiāo
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 篮球
How do you say "basketball" in Chinese?
In Chinese, "basketball" is 篮球. It is a noun.
How is 篮球 written in Chinese?
Two characters. 篮 means basket (sixteen strokes), 球 means ball (eleven strokes). Literally 'basket ball'.
How is 篮球 used in a sentence?
Use 篮球 as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: 篮球比赛明天。 (The basketball game is tomorrow.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
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"Basketball" in other languages
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