To Cantonese speakers: What does "chai ball" mean?
- Thread starter Hitman989
- Start date
Suilven
Regular Member
Isn’t dialects interesting, i would’ve been totally lost with “chai qao” and “da qao”.
The OP said "chai ball", I believe it's more "chai bo" in HK. The "bo" should be the phonetic corresponding of the "ball" in English whereas the "qao" is the word for "ball" in Chinese. It took me some moment to realize what the GZ players were referring about.
I do not recall any mainland China coaches saying "chai bo" when they first arrived but learned later with the locals. I remember they would tell us to "warn warn" (play) or just "gao qiao) (clears) to warm up. Other interesting aspect about "chai bo" is that it was used by locals in football, volleyball, badminton, tennis - but have not heard this term used in basketball and field hockey players.
I do not recall any mainland China coaches saying "chai bo" when they first arrived but learned later with the locals. I remember they would tell us to "warn warn" (play) or just "gao qiao) (clears) to warm up. Other interesting aspect about "chai bo" is that it was used by locals in football, volleyball, badminton, tennis - but have not heard this term used in basketball and field hockey players.
greek_foot
Regular Member
I can confirm everything you said regarding the mainland, which is why I was curious about the writing of "chai ball". The CC-Canto dictionary has it listed as "搓波" (caai bo), which struck me as confusing since "搓球" (cuo qiu) in the mainland is a chop-drop shot (as opposed to the slice-drop "吊球" or the stab-drop "放网"). I had thought it might have been "砌波" (cai bo), "砌" (cai) as in "砌低" (cai dai), so "hit/smack/whack the ball", but I guess I was wrong.
Drop shot. Might be used sometimes with a bit of reverse slice
net shot....?
"放网" as per my understanding has the same meaning as "吊球". The former "fang wang or fong mong in cantonese" is a common used term for shots to the net, did not specify the position - could be at the front or from the baseline. "Diao qiao" is more specific term used by the professional coaches, it meant for drop shots from the baseline. "网前球" or "搓球" is for net shots performed in the front court closer to the net, not from the baseline - "搓球" also meant the action to spin the shuttle in the front, a technical skill not that well known to European players in the 60s - 70s.
Last edited:
I am a pro! LOL
greek_foot
Regular Member
I'm not sure of the standard English terms for all these shots as I learned badminton in Chinese, but tennis in English
, so these are just the terms I use
. In tennis a "drop shot" is a catch-all term for any shot that "drops" over the net and lands short, but badminton has different names for these shots (at least in Northern Chinese) depending on how you contact the shuttle. I translate "吊球" as slice-drop because you approach the shuttle in a vertical slicing motion with the edge of the frame. I translate "放网" as stab-drop because you approach the shuttle in a straight stabbing lunge motion similar to fencing. I translate "搓球" as chop-drop because you approach the shuttle with a short horizontal chopping motion to apply spin. All of them land short, so to me, coming from tennis, they're all "drop shots", but like I said, I really don't know the official terms.
greek_foot
Regular Member
That's interesting, in Northern Chinese I've rarely heard "放网" refering to "吊球", maybe only in the context of court positioning and general strategy, but in the context of specific shots, "放网" and "吊球", at least to me, are distinct. "网前球", or casually "小球", seem to be the same as what you mentioned in Cantonese, general terms for netplay.
I'm not sure of the standard English terms for all these shots as I learned badminton in Chinese, but tennis in English
https://www.badmintoncentral.com/bc/2014/10/18/englishchinese-mandarin-badminton/
But not those shots from the back that use a large 上手動作, right?
You are really a PRO!! Admire your dedication in the sport.
Diao qiao is definitely one of the skills in the 上手動作.
Back in the days before the arrival of the professional coaches, "fong mong" was a generic term for the return to the net - could be from a return from a net shot with a net shot; a block return from a smash to the net; or a drop shot from the baseline.
With the professional coaches, specific terms were used to communicate the actions to be executed during the training/matches. As an example, if the coach said "diao qiao shang wang cuo qiao", we would know is action to execute was the baseline drop and then net with a spin net return. It would be much clearer than saying "fang wang shang wang fang wang".
Then there is also the "快吊" which meant the fast straight drop; "对角" for cross-court drop - just terms to indicate exactly the actions expected to be executed on court. Can't find the character for slice drop, in Mandarin "piit diao"; very similar sounding in Cantonese.
切？
greek_foot
Regular Member
I think you mean "劈吊" (pi diao). My understanding is that "劈吊" and "快吊" are often used interchangably and can be played straight or cross-court, though when I hear "劈吊" it most often implies a reverse-slice-drop, at leat in my experience.
Reading this again without rushing to go out - going back to the older days, "fong mong" or just "mong" is really very generic and it included the large over-the-head hit. it's basically to tell/suggest to do a net shot from whatever position.
Yes, this is also my understanding. Normally a "劈吊" (pi diao) makes the shuttle land a bit further from the net, though from what I have seen top players executing this shot from the baseline are able to place the shuttle before the service line. The initial speed of the shuttle is very fast in a apparent straight trajectory and it decelerates dramatically in the last few meters landing before the service line.
The Pi Diao, may sometime used interchangeably with "半杀" (Ban Sha) depending where the shuttle lands - it often depended the interpretation of the coaches. My coach does not differentiate a lot between these 2 shots as the execution is very similar.
Not sure what Neutralizing Shot means. There is term that was used "過渡球" (GuoTou gao) - a neutral shot, neither attacking or defensive shot. Not sure if this was the shot in question.
Suilven
Regular Member
Yep, pretty much it, i believe it’s a shot to neutralise a bad situation where your opponent has gained a upper hand,
usually played when a defensive clear might fall short of the baseline as you are out of position and lunging away,
or a drop shot would be met with your opponent ready to take it high and reply with spinning net shot,
so best option is to float one into the side of court about a metre or so pass the service line,
theory is it gives you more chance of recovery and precision is not such importance like a tight drop shot so percentage of error is lower,
sometimes your opponent makes a error adjusting to the shot.
I’m no coach by any means so if there are more knowledgeable people who care to correct me,
feel free, I don’t want to espouse bad info on open forum.