play
gb/plˈeɪ/ us/plˈeɪ/
A1
Kiingereza
~ 1300
játszik, alakít, színdarab, lejátszik
KITENZI
A1
1
játszik
A1
Muundo wa matumizi:
to play [a game/sport/activity]
The children love to play in the park after school.
A gyerekek szeretnek iskola után a parkban játszani.
We usually play tennis on Saturdays.
Szombatonként általában teniszezünk.
He plays video games every evening.
They played cards until midnight.
Let's play soccer before it gets dark.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I play football with my friends.
Focizom a barátaimmal.
We play games at school.
Az iskolában szoktunk játékokat játszani.
The kids play in the garden.
She plays tennis every Sunday.
He plays with his dog.
Kosa la kawaida:
Learners sometimes confuse 'play' with 'do' or 'go' when talking about sports. Use 'play' for team sports and games (e.g., 'play football'), 'go' for activities ending in -ing (e.g., 'go swimming'), and 'do' for individual sports without 'play' (e.g., 'do karate').
Maana
do something for fun
Miunganiko ya maneno
play football
|play games
|play outside
|play chess
|play together
Visawe
participate (More formal and general; not limited to recreation.)
|
compete (Focuses on rivalry, often in sports or contests.)
Vinyume
work (Refers to activities done for a job or duty rather than for fun.)
Mada
daily life
|sports
|leisure
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
To do an activity, game, or sport for fun.
To take part in an activity, game, or sport for enjoyment rather than for serious or practical purposes.
KITENZI
A1
2
játszik
A1
Muundo wa matumizi:
to play [an instrument/song]
She plays the violin beautifully.
Gyönyörűen hegedül.
He played a song on his guitar.
Eljátszott egy dalt a gitárján.
The band will play at the festival.
Can you play this piece of music?
They played softly so as not to wake the baby.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I can play the piano.
Tudok zongorázni.
She plays guitar very well.
Nagyon jól gitározik.
We play music at home.
He plays a song for his friends.
They play drums in the band.
Kosa la kawaida:
Learners sometimes omit 'the' before instruments (e.g., 'play piano' instead of 'play the piano'), except in some informal American English where omission is common.
Maana
perform music or song
Miunganiko ya maneno
play the piano
|play guitar
|play a song
|play music
Visawe
perform (More formal; can apply to acting or other arts, not just music.)
Vinyume
listen (To receive music rather than create it.)
Mada
music
|arts
|arts_entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
To make music by using an instrument or singing.
To produce music by operating a musical instrument or performing a song.
KITENZI
A2
3
Muundo wa matumizi:
to play [a character/role]
She played Juliet in the school production.
Ő játszotta Júliát az iskolai előadásban.
He has played many famous historical figures.
Sok híres történelmi személyiséget alakított már.
Who will play the villain in the movie?
They played their parts convincingly.
The actor is playing a detective in the new series.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I play a teacher in the school play.
Egy tanárt játszom az iskolai darabban.
She plays the main role in the movie.
Ő játssza a főszerepet a filmben.
He plays Hamlet on stage.
They play two brothers in the film.
We play characters in the drama.
Kosa la kawaida:
Learners may confuse this with general participation. Here, 'play' specifically means to act as someone else in a performance.
Maana
act in a drama or role
Miunganiko ya maneno
play a role
|play Hamlet
|play the hero
Visawe
portray (More formal; emphasizes representing the character.)
Vinyume
watch (To view a performance rather than act in it.)
Mada
arts
|entertainment
|arts_entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
To be a character in a movie, play, or show.
To perform the part of a character in a film, play, or other dramatic production.
NOMINO
A2
4
színdarab
A2
We went to see a new play last night.
Tegnap este megnéztünk egy új színdarabot.
The school is putting on a Christmas play.
Az iskola karácsonyi színdarabot ad elő.
Shakespeare wrote many famous plays.
This play is set in Victorian England.
The play received excellent reviews.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
We saw a play at the theater.
Láttunk egy színdarabot a színházban.
The students act in the school play.
A diákok szerepelnek az iskolai színdarabban.
I read a play by Shakespeare.
They watch a play on TV.
The play is about love and war.
Maana
theatrical performance script
Miunganiko ya maneno
stage play
|Shakespearean play
|school play
Visawe
drama (Can refer more broadly to serious stories, not always staged.)
Vinyume
improvisation (Performance without a written script.)
Mada
arts
|arts_entertainment
|education
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
A story for actors to perform in a theater or on TV/film.
A story written for actors to perform on stage or screen, usually divided into acts and scenes.
KITENZI
A1
5
lejátszik
A2
Muundo wa matumizi:
to play [a song/movie/video]
Can you play that song again?
Le tudod játszani még egyszer azt a számot?
She played the movie from the beginning.
Az elejétől játszotta le a filmet.
They played the recording for us.
I played my favorite playlist while cooking.
Play the video so everyone can see it.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I play music on my phone.
A telefonomról játszom le zenét.
She plays a movie for her children.
Lejátszik egy filmet a gyerekeinek.
We play songs at the party.
He plays videos on his computer.
Please play that song again.
Maana
start music or video device
Miunganiko ya maneno
play a movie
|play an album
|play the radio
Visawe
start (General term for beginning something; not specific to media.)
Vinyume
stop (To end playback of media.)
Mada
technology
|entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
To make music, video, or other media start on a machine.
To cause recorded sound or video to start operating on a device such as a computer, phone, or stereo system.
Sarufi
Umbo la kamusi
play
IPA
GB/plˈeɪ/
US/plˈeɪ/
Silabi na mkazo
play (silabi 1)
Stress on 1st syllable (play)
Maumbo ya neno
Noun
- Base: play
- Plural: play, plays
Verb
- Base: play
- 3rd Person Singular: plays
- Present Participle: playing
- Past: played
Familia ya neno
Forms
plays
noun
playing
verb
played
verb
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
unplayable
adjective
Advanced or less common
playwright
noun
playfulness
noun
Semi
play along
1/plˈeɪ əlˈɔŋ/
phrasal verb
pretend to agree or cooperate
To act like you agree or are helping, often to keep things calm or secret.
Mifano
- She decided to play along until she knew more about their plan.
- I didn't believe him, but I played along.
play down
1/plˈeɪ dˈaʊn/
phrasal verb
make something seem less important
To try to make people think something is less important than it really is.
Mifano
- He tried to play down his role in the project.
- Officials are playing down fears of a crisis.
play hardball
1/plˈeɪ hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/
idiom
informal
be tough and aggressive to win
To be very firm and aggressive to get what you want, especially in business or competition.
Mifano
- The company decided to play hardball in negotiations.
- The company is playing hardball in contract talks.
- If they want to play hardball, we can too.
- If you want results, you have to play hardball.
play it safe
1/plˈeɪ ˈɪt sˈeɪf/
idiom
avoid risk by being careful
To be careful and avoid taking risks.
Mifano
- Let's play it safe and take an umbrella.
- I decided to play it safe and take the train instead of driving in the snow.
- He decided to play it safe and invest in bonds.
- He played it safe by investing in low-risk funds.
play with fire
1/plˈeɪ wˈɪθ fˈaɪɚ/
idiom
take dangerous risks
To do something risky that could cause serious problems later.
Mifano
- If you cheat on the test, you're playing with fire.
- If you lie to the police, you're playing with fire.
- Investing all your money in one stock is like playing with fire.
- He's playing with fire by lying to his boss.
- He's playing with fire by investing all his money in one company.
- He’s playing with fire by lying to his boss.