运动员 yùndòngyuán athlete
How to remember 运动员: 运 transport + 动 move + 员 member = athlete.
Characters
How it is used
- Athlete as a role or occupation - 职业运动员 (zhíyè yùndòngyuán) professional athlete.
- The suffix 员 marks a person filling a role (compare 演员 actor, 服务员 waiter). Measure word 名 or 位.
- Neutral register, used in sports news and formal contexts alike.
Example sentences
- 我一直想成为一名职业篮球运动员。 Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng chéngwéi yīmíng zhíyè lánqiú yùndòngyuán.I've always wanted to be a professional basketball player.
- 那个赛跑运动员跃过了地面上的洞。 Nàge sàipǎo yùndòngyuán yuèguò le dìmiàn shàng de dòng.The runner jumped over the hole in the ground.
- 汤姆天生就是个运动员。 Tāngmǔ tiānshēng jiùshì gè yùndòngyuán.Tom is a natural athlete.