台球
tái qiú · HSK 7
billiards
🎱 台球 = 台 (table) + 球 (ball): the table-ball game = billiards
球 (qiú) is the same ball in 篮球 basketball and 足球 soccer. Here 台 (tái) means table or platform, so 台球 literally reads as table-ball — the game played on a table.
台 — mouth 口 + 厶 (private)
Originally depicted a raised platform or terrace, suggesting elevation and a place to stand. The character later extended to mean stage, podium, or station. In modern usage it also serves as the simplified form of 臺 (platform) and 颱 (typhoon), and names Taiwan (台灣).
球 — jade radical 玉/王 + qiu 求 (phonetic)
球 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 王 is the 'jade' radical, indicating the original meaning: a fine piece of jade or a jade ornament. The right side 求 supplies the sound 'qiu'. Over time the meaning broadened from a jade sphere to any round object, and today it most commonly means 'ball' or 'globe'.