Kilo Lingo

(bǐ sài) - competition, match, game; to compete in Mandarin

sài

Traditional: 比賽

Line drawing of 比赛
Coloured illustration of 比赛
HSK 3
#555 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

competition, match, game; to compete

Word origin

A two-character word: 比 'to compare, to contend' (two figures side by side) plus 赛 'to compete, a match' (which contains the shell radical 贝, associated with value or prizes). Together 比赛 means a competition or match.

Origin
compound
Root
比 (contend) + 赛 (contains 贝, shell)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 比

Stroke order for 赛

Examples

There is a football match today.

Our team won the competition.

He took part in today's competition.

There is a football match tomorrow.

We won the match.

比赛 (bǐ sài) means a competition, match, or contest and can also function as a verb meaning to compete. 比 means to compare and 赛 means to contest or race. It covers sports matches (足球比赛, football match), academic competitions (演讲比赛, speech competition), and other contests. The measure word is 场 (chǎng) for a single match event: 一场比赛.

Where this fits

Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

比赛: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "比赛" (competition, match, game; to compete): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 12.