HSK 6 · Sport

选手 xuǎnshǒu “competitor” in Chinese

Said as xuánshǒu

Traditional 選手

What 选手 means

  1. competitor
  2. contestant
  3. athlete

How to say 选手

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale选xuǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale手shǒu3rd tone, dipping

Said as xuánshǒu. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

选手 in a sentence

  1. 他是个很棒的网球选手。

    Tā shì ge hěn bàng de wǎngqiú xuǎnshǒu.

    He’s an excellent tennis player.

    Sentence #346800 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 每位选手都尽力了。

    Měi wèi xuǎnshǒu dōu jìnlì le.

    Every competitor did their best.

    Sentence #1335413 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他弟弟是个有名的足球选手。

    Tā dìdi shì ge yǒumíng de zúqiú xuǎnshǒu.

    His younger brother is a famous footballer.

    Sentence #332970 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 选手 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 选 (xuǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
选xuǎnto choose
  • 先first · xiānSound part
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 先 (xiān) hints at the sound. Compare it with xuǎn.

The character 手 (shǒu) drawn as one shape
手shǒuhand

手 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a hand with its fingers spread. On the left of a character it is written 扌.

How to write 选手

选 9 strokes · 手 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

选手 (xuǎnshǒu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 选手 (xuǎnshǒu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 选手

Words with 选

选xuǎn · to choose选择xuǎnzé · select筛选shāixuǎn · to screen选拔xuǎnbá · to select (the best)当选dāngxuǎn · to be elected候选hòuxuǎn · candidate竞选jìngxuǎn · to run for office选举xuǎnjǔ · to elect

Words with 手

手shǒu · hand手表shǒubiǎo · watch手机shǒujī · mobile phone洗手间xǐshǒujiān · toilet分手fēnshǒu · to break up手术shǒushù · (surgical) operation手指shǒuzhǐ · finger手套shǒutào · glove对手duìshǒu · opponent握手wòshǒu · to shake hands

More words: Sport & Leisure

操场cāochǎng · playground钓diào · to fish with a hook and bait胜负shèngfù · victory or defeat田径tiánjìng · athletics跳跃tiàoyuè · to jump投掷tóuzhì · to throw亚军yàjūn · runner-up阵容zhènróng · line-up (of a team or cast)

FAQs

选手 (xuǎnshǒu) means “competitor” or “contestant”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it xuǎnshǒu: xuǎn with a 3rd tone, then shǒu with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like xuánshǒu. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 选手 is written 選手. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xuanshou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 选手 from the suggestions. Typing xuanshou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
选手 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.