体操 meaning in English

体操 covers both the Olympic sport of gymnastics and simple group exercise routines, like the morning exercises done at Chinese schools. It often appears in compounds such as 广播体操 (guǎngbō tǐcāo), radio calisthenics. Example: 她从小练体操。(Tā cóng xiǎo liàn tǐcāo.) She has practiced gymnastics since she was little.

体 (tǐ) means body, as in 身体 (shēntǐ), and 操 (cāo) means to drill or exercise. Body plus drill gives you 体操, training the body through set movements.

Common mistake: Learners often say 操 with a fourth tone or confuse it with 澡 (zǎo) from 洗澡, since both share the 喿 part. Remember 操 is first tone, cāo, and has the hand radical 扌, not water 氵.