sài
match; compete; contest; competition
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这场比赛非常激烈。
Zhè chǎng bǐsài fēicháng jīliè.
This game is very intense.
他参加了比赛，获得了第一名。
Tā cānjiāle bǐsài, huòdéle dìyīmíng.
He participated in the competition and won first place.
这个产品在市场上很有竞争力。
Zhège chǎnpǐn zài shìchǎng shàng hěn yǒu jìngzhènglì.
This product is very competitive in the market.
比 (bǐ)
compare
竞 (jìng)
compete
败 (bài)
lose
输 (shū)
lose
The Chinese character 赛 (sài) is composed of two parts: the radical ⻌ (bìng), which means "to compete" or "to compare", and the phonetic component 采 (cǎi), which means "to pick" or "to choose". The character 赛 originally meant "to compete" or "to compare", but over time it has come to mean "to race" or "to contest".The radical ⻌ (bìng) is a pictograph of two people standing next to each other, with one person holding a stick. This suggests the idea of competition or comparison. The phonetic component 采 (cǎi) is a pictograph of a hand picking something from a tree. This suggests the idea of choosing or selecting.When the two components are combined, the character 赛 (sài) takes on the meaning of "to compete" or "to compare". This is because competition and comparison both involve choosing or selecting the best option from a group of possibilities.The character 赛 (sài) is used in a variety of words and phrases related to competition and comparison. For example, it is used in the word 比赛 (bǐsài), which means "competition" or "contest". It is also used in the phrase 赛跑 (sàipǎo), which means "to race".The character 赛 (sài) is a common character in Chinese, and it is important for HSK learners to understand its meaning and etymology.
