团成一团

[yuechu]

大家好！

I was recently reading a children's story in Chinese and came across the following sentence: "西瓜成熟的时候，西瓜猫就躲在小猪种的西瓜地里，团成一团，远看和西瓜一模一样。"
Would anyone know what exactly 团成一团 means? (I know that "团" can mean "ball", but I'm still a bit confused)

Thanks!

 

[Yezige]

e.g. Crumple a Paper Ball, 把纸团成一团. Make an unfolded thing very small and tight, like a ball（一团）. Can also refer to abstract. The relationship between people has become tight, called 团结（unity）, 团队（team, group）

 

[Joetofu]

团成一团
The cat “curls up in a ball” and crouches in the watermelon patch, looking just like a watermelon.

 

[yuechu]

Thanks, Yezige and Joetofu! I think I get it now! So the first 团 is a verb and the second 团 is a noun, right?
谢谢！

 

[Joetofu]

So the first 团 is a verb and the second 团 is a noun, right?

Yes, that’s right—or that’s how I think of it, anyway 😉

 

[SuperXW]

Thanks, Yezige and Joetofu! I think I get it now! So the first 团 is a verb and the second 团 is a noun, right?
谢谢！

Yes. There are some words can both be a verb and a noun.
*I've deleted my improper examples. Yuechu's "to dance a dance", "to talk the talk but not walk the walk" are more close to what I meant.

 

[yuechu]

You're absolutely right about English sometimes having the same types of patterns! "to sing a song" and "to dance a dance" come to mind. There is also an expression which goes "to talk the talk but not walk the walk" (or are there variations on that? Anyway, that's at least one of the expressions similar to that. )

唔該晒, SuperXW!

 

[henter]

这里指的是小猫蜷缩着身子躲在瓜田里面。

就像Joetofu说的一样curl up in a ball.