乒乓

Chinese

		bing (onomat.)	bang (onomat.)
simp. and trad. (乒乓)		乒	乓

Glyph origin

Graphical manipulations on 兵 (bīng, “soldier”).

Etymology

A similar-sounding onomatopoeia to the source character 兵 (bīng, “soldier”). First attested in the Ming Dynasty, referring to the sound of collisions (for example, in 西遊記／西游记 (Xīyóujì, “Journey to the West”)). Later used as a translation of English ping pong.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): pīngpāng

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄧㄥ ㄆㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bing¹ bam¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): phin-phong / phîn-phóng

  (Meixian, Guangdong): bin¹ bong¹ / pin¹ pong¹

• Eastern Min (BUC): pĭng-pŏng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): phin-phong / phín-phóng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bing¹ bong⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹phin-phan₁

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pīngpāng → pīngpang (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄧㄥ ㄆㄤ → ㄆㄧㄥ ˙ㄆㄤ (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pingpång
    • Wade–Giles: pʻing¹-pʻang⁵
    • Yale: pīng-pang
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ping.pang
    • Palladius: пинпан (pinpan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰɑŋ⁵⁵/ → /pʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰɑŋ²/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bing¹ bam¹
    • Yale: bīng bām
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bing¹ bam¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bing¹ bem¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɪŋ⁵⁵ pɐm⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phin-phong / phîn-phóng
    • Hakka Romanization System: pin pong / pin^ˊ pong^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: pin⁴ pong⁴ / pin¹ pong³
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰin⁵⁵ pʰoŋ⁵⁵/, /pʰin²⁴ pʰoŋ³¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: bin¹ bong¹ / pin¹ pong¹
    • Sinological IPA: /pin⁴⁴ pɔŋ⁴⁴/, /pʰin⁴⁴ pʰɔŋ⁴⁴/

Note:

• phin-phong - sound of collision;
• phîn-phóng - “table tennis”.

• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: pĭng-pŏng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰiŋ⁵⁵ ^(pʰ-)mouŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phin-phong
    • Tâi-lô: phin-phong
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phinphofng
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /pʰin⁴⁴⁻²² pʰɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pʰin³³ pʰɔŋ³³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phín-phóng
    • Tâi-lô: phín-phóng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phynphorng
    • IPA (Taipei): /pʰin⁵³⁻⁴⁴ pʰɔŋ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰin⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ pʰɔŋ⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bing¹ bong⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ping pông
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /piŋ³³⁻²³ poŋ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹phin-phan₁
    • MiniDict: phin^平 phan^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹phin-phan₁
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /pʰin⁵⁵ pʰã²¹/

Noun

乒乓

1. (onomatopoeia) Sound of collision; the sound made from the impact of an object.

   • 忽擡頭，只見方丈門外有一個石獅子，卻就舉起棍來，乒乓一下，打得粉亂麻碎。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     忽抬头，只见方丈门外有一个石狮子，却就举起棍来，乒乓一下，打得粉乱麻碎。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16^th century CE

     Hū táitóu, zhǐ jiàn fāngzhàng ménwài yǒu yīge shíshīzǐ, què jiù jǔqǐ gùn lái, pīngpāng yīxià, dǎ de fěnluànmásuì. [Pinyin]

     Suddenly raising his head, all he saw was that outside the abbot's room's doors there was a stone guardian lion, but he just raised his stick, and with a clatter, smashed it into pieces.

2. (～球) table tennis; ping pong

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 乒乓球 (“table tennis; ping pong”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		乒乓球, 乒球 contraction
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	乒乓球兒
	Taiwan	桌球, 乒乓球
	Harbin	乒乓球兒
	Singapore	乒乓球
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	乒乓球
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	乒乓球兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	乒乓球
	Xi'an	乒乓球
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	乒乓球
	Lanzhou	乒乓球
	Ürümqi	乒乓球
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	乒乓球, 乒乓
	Wuhan	乒乓球
	Guiyang	乒乓球
	Guilin	乒乓球
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	乒乓球, 檯球 dated
	Yangzhou	檯球 dated
Cantonese	Guangzhou	乒乓波, 乒乓球
	Hong Kong	乒乓波
	Dongguan	乒乓波
Gan	Nanchang	乒乓球
	Lichuan	乒乓球
	Pingxiang	乒乓球
Hakka	Meixian	乒乓球, 檯球 dated, 桌球 dated
	Yudu	檯球
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	乒乓, 桌球
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	乒乓, 桌球
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	乒乓, 桌球
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	乒乓, 桌球
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	乒乓球, 乒乓
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	乒乓球, 乒乓
Huizhou	Jixi	乒乓球, 檯球 dated
Jin	Taiyuan	乒乓球
	Xinzhou	乒乓球
Northern Min	Jian'ou	乒乓球
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	乒乓球
Southern Min	Xiamen	桌球
	Quanzhou	桌球
	Jinjiang	桌球
	Zhangzhou	桌球
	Taipei	乒乓, 桌球
	Kaohsiung	乒乓, 桌球
	Singapore (Hokkien)	乒乓
	Manila (Hokkien)	乒乓, 桌球
	Longyan	桌球
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	桌球仔
	Shantou	乒乓球
	Shantou (Chenghai)	乒乓
	Singapore (Teochew)	乒乓
	Leizhou	乒乓球, 波囝
	Haikou	乒乓
Puxian Min	Putian	桌球
	Xianyou	桌球
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	檯球
Wu	Shanghai	乒乓球, 檯球 dated
	Shanghai (Chongming)	檯球
	Suzhou	檯球, 乒乓球
	Danyang	檯球 dated
	Hangzhou	乒乓球
	Ningbo	乒乓球
	Wenzhou	蠟球
	Jinhua	乒乓球, 檯球
Xiang	Changsha	蛋殼子球
	Loudi	乒乓球

Derived terms

• 乒乒乓乓 (pīngpīngpāngpāng)
• 乒乓外交 (pīngpāng wàijiāo)
• 乒乓波 (bing¹ bam¹ bo¹) (Cantonese)
• 乒乓泅 (phīn-phōng-siû) (Min Nan)
• 乒乓湢潑／乒乓湢泼 (bin¹ bong¹ bid⁶ bad⁶) (Hakka)
• 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú)
• 吹乒乓

 

References

• 西遊記　第十回　老龍王拙計犯天條　魏丞相遺書託冥吏, earliest usage of the term in Journey to the West