乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú) · table tennis

乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú) means “table tennis; ping-pong”. It is written with 3 characters: 乒 (used with pong for ping pong) + 乓 (used with ping for ping pong) + 球 (ball). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

How 乒乓球 is built

The characters

乒 pīng · used with pong for ping pong

What 乒 is made of

丘qiū — mound
- 斤jīn — a catty (about 500 grams)
  - 厂chǎng — cliff
  - 下xià — below
- 一 — horizontal stroke
丿 — falling stroke

乓 pāng · used with ping for ping pong

What 乓 is made of

丘qiū — mound
- 斤jīn — a catty (about 500 grams)
  - 厂chǎng — cliff
  - 下xià — below
- 一 — horizontal stroke
丶 — dot

球 qiú · ball

What 球 is made of

王wáng — king
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 土tǔ — earth
  - 十 — ten
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
求qiú — to seek
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 氺shui — structural part
  - 亅 — hook

Origin hint: 王 gives the meaning, 求 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

我们下课后去打乒乓球。Wǒmen xiàkè hòu qù dǎ pīngpāngqiú.We're going to play table tennis after class.

你会打乒乓球吗？Nǐ huì dǎ pīngpāngqiú ma?Can you play table tennis?

Questions about 乒乓球

What does 乒乓球 mean?

乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú) means “table tennis; ping-pong”.

How do you pronounce 乒乓球?

乒乓球 is pronounced pīngpāngqiú.

Which HSK level is 乒乓球?

乒乓球 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and Old HSK 4.

Related words

Learn 乒乓球 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 4 · Group 33: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group