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HSK 2

运动

sports; exercise; to exercise

nounneutral1 episode
运
yùn4th tone
动
dòng4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
yùndòng
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
13
Register
neutral
Measure word
项 / 种
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 运动

运动 is written with 13 strokes (运: 7, 动: 6). The animation replays automatically.

What does 运动 mean?

运动 (yùndòng) covers both 'sports' and 'exercise / physical activity' — and it can also be a verb 'to exercise / to work out.'

As a noun: 我喜欢运动 ('I like sports / exercise'); as a verb: 我每天运动 ('I exercise every day'). To say 'do/play a specific sport,' Chinese uses different verbs: 打 for ball-and-hand sports (打篮球, 打网球), 踢 for kicking (踢足球), 游 for swimming, 跑 for running. So 运动 is the umbrella word, not the action verb.

运动 also has a third sense: 'movement' as in social/political movement (五四运动 — 'May Fourth Movement') and a fourth sense in physics: 'motion.' Related noun 运动员 (yùndòngyuán) means 'athlete'; 运动会 (yùndònghuì) is a 'sports meet / track meet.'

Character by character

运yùnto move; to transport; fortune
+
动dòngto move; to act
=
运动

Memory hook: Two 'move' characters stacked — moving + moving = exercise. 运 has the walking radical 辶, like 'movement on the go.'

Hear 运动 in real episodes

运动 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.

体育课要选一个运动。

He had to pick a sport for his PE class.

Pickleball Is Taking Off in China: 8 Million Regular Players and 1,000 Tournaments a Year

Difficulty
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Example sentences

我每天都做运动。

Wǒ měi tiān dōu zuò yùndòng.

I exercise every day.

spoken

你喜欢什么运动？

Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yùndòng?

What sports do you like?

spoken

运动对身体很好。

Yùndòng duì shēntǐ hěn hǎo.

Exercise is very good for the body.

neutral

他是一个有名的运动员。

Tā shì yí ge yǒumíng de yùndòngyuán.

He's a famous athlete.

neutral

Common phrases with 运动

做运动zuò yùndòngto do exercise / sports
运动员yùndòngyuánathlete
运动会yùndònghuìsports meet; track and field meet
运动鞋yùndòng xiésneakers; sports shoes
喜欢运动xǐhuan yùndòngto like sports / exercise

Synonyms

锻炼duànliàn

锻炼 emphasizes 'training / building up the body through exercise' — focused, repeated practice. 运动 is broader 'sports / movement' and includes recreational play. 每天锻炼身体 ('exercise the body daily') vs 我喜欢运动 ('I like sports').

体育tǐyù

体育 is 'physical education / athletics' as an institutional category — school subjects, sports broadcasting, the Olympics. 运动 is the general activity. 体育课 ('PE class') vs 做运动 ('do exercise').

Don't confuse 运动 with

运气yùnqì

Shares 运 but means 'luck / fortune.' 运 has multiple senses; in 运动 it's 'movement,' in 运气 it's 'fortune.' Don't transfer the meaning.

活动huódòng

活动 means 'activity / event' — broader than sports (a party, a meeting, a gathering can all be 活动). 运动 specifically means physical sport/exercise (or political/social movement).

FAQ

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