ピンポン
ぴんぽん
noun
ping-pong; doorbell chime
1.
ping-pong; table tennis (informal)
The sport of table tennis. An informal, everyday term compared to the official 卓球.
ピンポンをしよう。
Let's play ping-pong.
昼休みにピンポンで遊んだ。
We played ping-pong during lunch break.
小学校の頃はよく友達とピンポンをして遊んでいた。
When I was in elementary school, I often played ping-pong with friends.
2.
doorbell chime; ding-dong sound
The sound a doorbell makes, or the act of ringing a doorbell. Also used as an onomatopoeia for a correct-answer chime on quiz shows.
ピンポンが鳴った。
The doorbell rang.
夜遅くにピンポンを押すのはやめてほしい。
I wish they'd stop ringing the doorbell late at night.
ピンポンダッシュをする子どもがいて困っている。
There are kids doing ding-dong ditch and it's a problem.
A versatile onomatopoeic loanword with two distinct meanings in everyday Japanese. As a sport, ピンポン is the casual everyday term, while 卓球 is the formal/official name used in competitive contexts. As a sound, it imitates a two-tone doorbell chime and is also the correct-answer sound effect on TV quiz shows.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- ピンポンをする: to play ping-pong
- ピンポン台: ping-pong table
- ピンポン玉: ping-pong ball
- ピンポンが鳴る: the doorbell rings
- ピンポンを押す: to press the doorbell
- ピンポンダッシュ: ding-dong ditch (prank)
USAGE:
On quiz shows, ピンポン signals a correct answer (the opposite being ブー for incorrect). The phrase ピンポン！ can be used colloquially to mean "correct!" or "bingo!"
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 卓球: table tennis — the formal/official name for the sport
- インターホン: intercom — the device itself, not the sound
- チャイム: chime — a more general term for doorbell or school bell sound