游泳

• Pinyin: yóu yǒng
• Hanzi breakdown: 游 = 氵(water) + 斿 (flag, phonetic), meaning to swim or travel; 泳 = 氵(water) + 永 (forever, phonetic), meaning to swim

Meaning

Swimming; to swim. The common word for the activity and sport of swimming.

As a noun, 游泳 refers to the activity or sport of swimming. As a verb, it means to swim. One of the most common recreational and exercise activities discussed in everyday Chinese conversation.

Examples

1. 夏天的时候，我喜欢去游泳。 In summer, I like to go swimming.
2. 他每个星期都去游泳池游泳。 He goes to the swimming pool to swim every week.
3. 游泳是一项很好的运动。 Swimming is a very good form of exercise.

Usage Guide

Context: sports, leisure, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你会游泳吗？(Can you swim?)
• 我们周末去海边游泳吧。(Let's go swimming at the beach this weekend.)

Don't Say

• 我游泳在河里。(Don't place the location after 游泳 — say 我在河里游泳 with the location before the verb)

Origin & History

Compound of 游 (to swim, to travel) and 泳 (to swim). Both characters contain water-related components, emphasizing movement through water.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal