# 乒乓
## Chinese

* 乒乓 (搞清楚) (Cantonese)
* 乒乓 (消歧義) (Written Standard Chinese)

### 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): bing$^1$ bam$^1$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): phin-phong / phîn-phóng
    (Meixian, Guangdong): bin$^1$ bong$^1$ / pin$^1$ pong$^1$
* Eastern Min (BUC): pĭng-pŏng
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): phin-phong / phín-phóng
    (Teochew, Peng'im): bing$^1$ bong$^5$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^1$phin-phan$_1$
* 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: pʻing$^1$-pʻang$^5$
*** Yale: pīng-pang
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ping.pang
*** Palladius: пинпан (pinpan)
*** Sinological IPA : /pʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰɑŋ⁵⁵/ → /pʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰɑŋ²/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: bing$^1$ bam$^1$
*** Yale: bīng bām
*** Cantonese Pinyin: bing$^1$ bam$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: bing$^1$ bem$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /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: pin$^4$ pong$^4$ / pin$^1$ pong$^3$
*** Sinological IPA: /pʰin⁵⁵ pʰoŋ⁵⁵/, /pʰin²⁴ pʰoŋ³¹/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: bin$^1$ bong$^1$ / pin$^1$ pong$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /pin⁴⁴ pɔŋ⁴⁴/, /pʰin⁴⁴ pʰɔŋ⁴⁴/
* phin-phong - sound of collision;
* phîn-phóng - “table tennis”.

### Noun

乒乓
* (onomatopoeia) Sound of collision; the sound made from the impact of an object.
    From: Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16th 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.
* (～球) table tennis; ping pong

#### Synonyms

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

#### Derived terms

* 乒乒乓乓 (pīngpīngpāngpāng)
* 乒乓外交 (pīngpāng wàijiāo)
* 乒乓波 (bing$^1$ bam$^1$ bo$^1$) (Cantonese)
* 乒乓泅 (phīn-phōng-siû) (Min Nan)
* 乒乓湢潑／乒乓湢泼 (bin$^1$ bong$^1$ bid$^6$ bad$^6$) (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