场 (chǎng) · large place for a specific purpose

Meanings

1 large place for a specific purpose
2 stage; scene (of a play)
3 venue; site; field
4 classifier for sporting / recreational activities
5 classifier for exams

Characters

场

chǎng

venue; site; classifier for performances, matches, exams

Examples

HSK 1

我们看了一场电影。

Wǒmen kàn le yī chǎng diànyǐng.

We watched a movie.

HSK 2

明天我有两场考试。

Míngtiān wǒ yǒu liǎng chǎng kǎoshì.

I have two exams tomorrow.

HSK 7-9

今天有一场足球赛。

Jīntiān yǒu yī chǎng zúqiú sài.

There is a football match today.

Tips

usage

As chǎng, 场 names a delimited place built for a purpose (操场, 机场, 商场, 现场) or counts a single bounded session of sport, performance, or exam (一场比赛, 两场考试).

mistakes

Two readings. chǎng = venue / staged event (机场, 一场电影). cháng = threshing floor or classifier for things that simply happen to you - rain, illness, a quarrel (一场雨, 一场大病). If a ticket gets you in, it is chǎng; if it just happens, it is cháng.

Components

radical

土 tǔ

earth; soil

Left-side 土 is the earth radical and indexing component. 场 originally named a flat patch of cleared earth used for threshing grain in the sun - the 'open ground' core that grew into modern 'site, venue, field, scene'. Same family as 地, 坡, 城, 堂.

phonetic

勿 wù

do not; banner-shape

Right side is a 3-stroke contraction of 昜 (sun rising), the original phonetic in traditional 場. The simplified shape resembles 勿 but is graphic residue, not standalone 'do not'. Pure phonetic stand-in for the yáng→cháng / chǎng link, shared with sister chars 扬 and 杨.