HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Hobbies, Sport

运动员 yùndòngyuán “athlete” in Chinese

Traditional 運動員

What 运动员 means

  1. athlete
  2. sportsperson

Measure word 名 míng or 个 gè · 一名运动员 yì míng yùndòngyuán

How to say 运动员

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale运yùn4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale动dòng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale员yuán2nd tone, rising

运动员 in a sentence

  1. 他看起来像个运动员，但是其实是个作家。

    Tā kànqǐlai xiàng ge yùndòngyuán, dànshì qíshí shì ge zuòjiā.

    He looks like an athlete, but he’s actually a writer.

    Sentence #2194350 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我一直想成为一名职业篮球运动员。

    Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng chéngwéi yì míng zhíyè lánqiú yùndòngyuán.

    I’ve always wanted to be a professional basketball player.

    Sentence #8463537 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我在想哪个跑步运动员会跑第一。

    Wǒ zài xiǎng nǎge pǎobù yùndòngyuán huì pǎo dìyī.

    I wonder which runner will come first.

    Sentence #333378 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 运动员 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 运 (yùn) with each of its parts in a different colour
运yùnto move
  • 云cloud · yúnSound part
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 云 (yún) hints at the sound. Compare it with yùn.

The character 动 (dòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
动dòngto move
  • 云cloud · yún
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

Memory aidStrength 力 makes things move. In the full form 動, 重 (zhòng) gave the sound.

The character 员 (yuán) with each of its parts in a different colour
员yuánperson engaged in a certain field
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 贝sea shell · bèiMeaning part

How to write 运动员

运 7 strokes · 动 6 strokes · 员 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 运动员

Words with 运

运动yùndòng · to exercise运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet运输yùnshū · to transport运用yùnyòng · to use幸运xìngyùn · fortunate运气yùnqi · luck (good or bad)命运mìngyùn · fate运算yùnsuàn · mathematical operation运行yùnxíng · to run托运tuōyùn · to check in (luggage)

Words with 动

动dòng · to move运动yùndòng · to exercise动物dòngwù · animal动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet活动huódòng · activity感动gǎndòng · to be moved激动jīdòng · excited动作dòngzuò · movement行动xíngdòng · to act

Words with 员

服务员fúwùyuán · waiter员yuán · (suffix) member演员yǎnyuán · actor or actress售货员shòuhuòyuán · salesperson人员rényuán · staff员工yuángōng · employee裁员cáiyuán · to cut staff委员wěiyuán · committee member成员chéngyuán · member动员dòngyuán · to mobilise

More words: Hobbies, Sport & Leisure

兴趣xìngqù · interest晚会wǎnhuì · evening party得分défēn · to score (points)拍照pāizhào · to take a photo球场qiúchǎng · (sports) court请客qǐngkè · to treat someone (to a meal)运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet做客zuòkè · to be a guest

FAQs

运动员 (yùndòngyuán) means “athlete” or “sportsperson”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it yùndòngyuán: yùn with a 4th tone, then dòng with a 4th tone, then yuán with a 2nd tone. 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, 运动员 is written 運動員. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 名 (míng) or 个 (gè). For example, one athlete is 一名运动员 (yì míng yùndòngyuán).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yundongyuan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 运动员 from the suggestions. Typing yundongyuan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
运动员 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 5 word list. It is not on the older 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.