打球

• Pinyin: dǎ qiú
• Hanzi breakdown: 打 (hit, play) + 球 (ball) — to play ball sports

Meaning

To play ball; to play a ball sport. A general term for engaging in any sport involving a ball, such as basketball, football, or table tennis.

A verb-object compound of 打 (hit/play) + 球 (ball). Used broadly for all ball sports. To specify which sport, replace or expand 球 with the sport name: 打篮球 (basketball), 打乒乓球 (table tennis). When context is clear, 打球 alone is sufficient.

Examples

1. 我们下午去打球吧。 Let's go play ball this afternoon.
2. 他每天都打球。 He plays ball every day.
3. 你喜欢打球吗？ Do you like playing ball?

Usage Guide

Context: sports, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 周末我们一起打球吧。(Let's play ball together this weekend.)
• 他打球打得很好。(He plays ball really well.)

Don't Say

• 我打球了篮球 (Don't combine 打球 with a specific ball type — say 打篮球 or just 打球)

Origin & History

Compound of 打 (hit, strike) and 球 (ball) — literally to hit a ball, generalized to playing any ball sport.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal