Chinlingo Chinese character: 蹦 and 跳

[Do you know?]

Both "蹦" and "跳" mean "jump". Is there any difference between them?

[Definitions]

蹦 (bènɡ): jump on both feet

跳 (tiào): jump upwards or forwards on both feet

[Uses]

Basically, "蹦" means "jump upwards on both feet", while "跳" means "jump either on one foot or both feet".

In addition, "跳" also means "move up and down, beat or throb", as in "心跳" (xīn tiào, heartbeat), but "蹦" cannot be used in this way.

Moreover, "跳" can be followed by an object, either a concrete noun as in "跳水" (tiào shuǐ, springboard diving) and "跳楼" (tiào lóu, jump to death from a building), or an abstract noun as in "跳级" (tiào jí, skip a year/grade), but "蹦" cannot be used this way.

Examples

1. √他喜欢跳高、跳远。(tā xǐ huān tiào ɡāo, tiào yuǎn)

   He likes high jump and long jump.

× 他喜欢蹦高、蹦远。

2. √他是跳水运动员。(tā shì tiào shuǐ yùn dònɡ yuán)

   He is a diving athlete.

× 他是蹦水运动员。

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