团 (tuán) · group, regiment

Measure Word

一支团 zhī

Meanings

1 group
2 regiment
3 ball; round mass
4 measure word for lumps, balls or masses (of paper, wool, smoke)

Characters

团

tuán

group; ball; round mass

The enclosure radical 囗 wraps around 才, suggesting something gathered together in a circle.

Examples

HSK 5

他是团里的领导。

Tā shì tuánlǐ de lǐngdǎo.

He is the leader of the group.

HSK 7-9

我们报了一个旅游团。

Wǒmen bào le yí gè lǚyóutuán.

We signed up for a tour group.

HSK 7-9

把纸揉成一团。

Bǎ zhǐ róu chéng yì tuán.

Crumple the paper into a ball.

Tips

usage

团 as a measure word means 'a lump/ball of': 一团火 (a ball of fire), 一团毛线 (a ball of yarn).

Components

radical

囗 wéi

enclosure; border

Outer indexing enclosure radical 囗 (Kangxi #31, wéi 'enclosure' - not the same as inner 口 'mouth'). Marks 团 as a bounded, gathered shape: a circle of people, a roll of dough, a unit of soldiers. Same radical anchors 国 (state), 园 (garden), 困 (trapped), 围 (surround), 圆 (round).

phonetic

才 cái

talent; just (now)

Inner component supplies the sound: 才 cái → tuán through Old Chinese sound shift, no longer transparent in modern Mandarin. The 1956 simplification picked 才 as a convenient inner phonetic; the traditional 團 had 專 (zhuān) inside the enclosure, a much closer phonetic match. The modern shape sacrifices sound for stroke count.