乒乓球
table tennis; ping-pong
pīngpāngqiú
What does 乒乓球 mean?
乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú) is a noun meaning both the sport of table tennis (ping-pong) and the small ball used to play it — context tells you which. It is China's unofficial national sport, so the word carries cultural weight far beyond a casual pastime; 国球 (guóqiú, 'national ball') is a nickname for it. Two features delight learners. First, the name is onomatopoeic: 乒 (pīng) and 乓 (pāng) imitate the pock-pock sound of the ball bouncing, and the two characters are near-mirror images built from 兵 (soldier).
Second, unlike English where 'table tennis' and 'ping-pong' can differ in formality, 乒乓球 covers both registers. To say 'play table tennis,' pair it with 打 (dǎ): 打乒乓球. The place you play is 乒乓球台 (the table) or 乒乓球馆 (the hall).
Character breakdown
onomatopoeia for the 'ping' sound
onomatopoeia for the 'pong' sound
ball
Memory hook: 乒 and 乓 are 兵 (soldier) with one leg kicked out each way — two mirror-image characters that literally sound like 'ping-pong.'
Measure word for 乒乓球
Example sentences
我们下午去打乒乓球吧。
Wǒmen xiàwǔ qù dǎ pīngpāngqiú ba.
Let's go play table tennis this afternoon.
spoken
乒乓球是中国的国球。
Pīngpāngqiú shì Zhōngguó de guóqiú.
Table tennis is China's national sport.
neutral
他从小就喜欢打乒乓球。
Tā cóngxiǎo jiù xǐhuan dǎ pīngpāngqiú.
He has loved playing ping-pong since he was little.
neutral
乒乓球比赛下周开始。
Pīngpāngqiú bǐsài xià zhōu kāishǐ.
The table tennis tournament starts next week.
written
Common phrases with 乒乓球
Don't confuse 乒乓球 with
FAQ
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