A bamboo-woven basket or container. Basket, basketful, or basketball hoop. Bamboo (⺮) over a supervisor (监) guarding the contents.
篮 has 竹 (bamboo) on top and 监 (jiān) below as the sound component. The bamboo radical points to its original meaning: a woven bamboo basket. That core sense survives in 篮子 (basket) and in 篮球 (basketball), where the 'basket' is the hoop.
篮球 is played with the hands, so the verb is 打, not 踢 (which is for kicking).
For the sport, say 打篮球. 一个篮球 means 'one basketball' (the physical ball), not the activity.
篮 has the bamboo radical and means basket or basketball; 蓝 has the grass radical and means blue.
Both are pronounced lán, but the radicals split the meanings. 篮 (竹, bamboo) is for baskets and basketball. 蓝 (艹, grass) is the color blue. Bamboo for basket, grass for color.
| Dimension | 篮 | 蓝 |
|---|---|---|
| Radical | 竹 (bamboo) | 艹 (grass) |
| Meaning | basket, basketball | blue |
| Example | 篮球 (basketball) | 蓝色 (blue color) |
Use 打 for basketball because it is played with the hands, not the feet.
Chinese pairs different verbs with different sports. 打 goes with hand-based sports like 打篮球 and 打乒乓球. 踢 goes with foot-based sports like 踢足球. Basketball is hand-based, so 打篮球 is correct.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | 打篮球 | 踢篮球 |
| Reason | played with hands | played with feet |
| Similar sports | 打乒乓球, 打网球 | 踢足球 |
In this dialogue, two people chat while waiting outside a cinema. You'll hear common phrases for talking about hobbies, sports, and movie preferences.
Ａ：你喜欢踢足球和打 篮球 吗？
No questions or discussions yet. Have a question about this character/word? Be the first to ask!
