月球 meaning in English

yuèqiú

the moon

HSK 5noun15 strokes

Meaning of 月球

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yuèqiú

the moon

How to use 月球

月球 is the scientific or formal word for the moon as a celestial body, used in news, science, and space topics. In everyday talk about the moon in the sky, people usually say 月亮 (yuèliang). Example: 人类第一次登上月球是在1969年。(Rénlèi dì yī cì dēngshàng yuèqiú shì zài 1969 nián.) Humans first landed on the moon in 1969.

月球 is simply 月 (yuè, moon) plus 球 (qiú, ball or sphere), so it is the moon seen as a ball in space. Think of it as the partner of 地球 (dìqiú), the earth ball.

Common mistake: Learners often use 月球 for the moon they see at night, as in 今晚的月球很圆, which sounds odd. For the moon as a poetic or everyday sight, say 今晚的月亮很圆 (jīnwǎn de yuèliang hěn yuán).

月球 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ们men不bù久jiǔ就jiù能néng到dào月yuè球qiú旅lǚ行xíng了le。

It will not be long before we can take a trip to the moon.

在zài不bù久jiǔ的de将jiāng来lái人rén类lèi会huì可kě以yǐ去qù月yuè球qiú旅lǚ游yóu。

The time will soon come when man will be able to travel to the moon.

你nǐ可kě以yǐ想xiǎng象xiàng在zài月yuè球qiú上shàng行háng走zǒu吗ma？

Can you imagine walking on the moon?

汤tāng姆mǔ登dēng上shàng了le月yuè球qiú。

Tom landed on the moon.

月yuè球qiú上shàng没méi有yǒu空kòng气qì，也yě自zì然rán没méi有yǒu声shēng音yīn。

Since there is no air on the moon, there is no sound at all.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

月 yuè · moon · 4 strokes

球 qiú · ball · 11 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 月球.

打球	dǎ qiú	to play a ball sport
地球	dìqiú	the earth
月亮	yuèliang	the moon
球队	qiúduì	sports team (basketball, soccer, football etc)
球场	qiúchǎng	stadium; sports ground
篮球	lánqiú	basketball
网球	wǎngqiú	tennis; tennis ball
月份	yuèfèn	month
排球	páiqiú	volleyball
球鞋	qiúxié	athletic shoes
全球	quánqiú	the whole world; worldwide; global
足球	zúqiú	soccer; football; a soccer ball; a football

Questions about 月球

What does 月球 mean?

月球 (yuèqiú) means "the moon" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 月球?

月球 is made of 2 characters: 月 (4 strokes), 球 (11 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.

Is 月球 an HSK word?

Yes. 月球 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 月球 and 月亮?

Both mean the moon. 月球 treats it as a planet-like body in space, used in science and space exploration. 月亮 is the everyday word for the moon you look at in the sky.

Does 球 in 月球 mean the same as in 篮球?

Yes, 球 (qiú) means a ball or sphere in both. In 篮球 (lánqiú) it is a ball for sport, and in 月球 and 地球 it describes a round body in space.