乒

pīng
丘 + 丿

Definitions

pīng (onomatopoeia) ping (onomatopoeia for light impact sound)

Etymology

Derived from 兵 (bīng), with one stroke removed. Symmetric with 乓, so that 乒乓 (pīngpāng) resembles the back-and-forth motion of ping-pong.

About

乒 is derived from 兵 (bīng, "soldier" or "weapon") by omitting one stroke. Unlike typical characters built from semantic and phonetic components, it functions as onomatopoeia for a sharp, percussive sound like a high-pitched pop. It is almost always paired with its visually symmetric counterpart 乓 to form 乒乓 (pīngpāng), the word for table tennis. The mirrored shapes evoke the back-and-forth motion of the game, while the pronunciation mimics the sound of the ball bouncing.

Example Sentences Hide

他在打乒乓球。

Tā zài dǎ pīngpāngqiú.

He is playing table tennis.

乒乓球很好玩。

Pīngpāngqiú hěn hǎowán.

Table tennis is very fun.

我买了一个乒乓球。

Wǒ mǎile yīgè pīngpāngqiú.

I bought a table tennis ball.

乒乓球拍很便宜。

Pīngpāngqiú pāi hěn piányi.

The table tennis racket is very cheap.

他乒乓球打得很好。

Tā pīngpāngqiú dǎ de hěn hǎo.

He plays table tennis very well.

厨房里乒乒乓乓地响。

Chúfáng lǐ pīngpīngpāngpāng de xiǎng.

It is clattering noisily in the kitchen.

乒乓球是一项奥林匹克运动。

Pīngpāngqiú shì yī xiàng àolínpǐkè yùndòng.

Table tennis is an Olympic sport.

如果你喜欢乒乓球，我们可以一起练习。

Rúguǒ nǐ xǐhuān pīngpāngqiú, wǒmen kěyǐ yīqǐ liànxí.

If you like table tennis, we can practice together.

Related Characters

Component: 丘

兵 岳 丘 邱 乓 蚯 茊 虗 坵 駈

Component: 丿

方 么 力 向 儿 水 系 少 必 展 万 师 失 千

Example Words

乒乓 乒乓球 乒乓球拍 乒乓球台