Sphere
Ball, Sports Ball
noun
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
球 has a slightly technical sound and highlights the sphere shape of the object you're talking about. It's most commonly used to refer to sports balls (as a more formal alternative to ボール).
This word is made up of a single kanji, so it should use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
You see a sphere in Tamara's (たま) hand. You're not totally sure what it is, but it's really spherical. Maybe it's some kind of sports ball. Remember Tamara, the local ball girl? It would totally make sense for Tamara to be holding either a sphere or a sports ball, since that's kind of all she does.
You might notice 球 has the same reading as the vocab word 玉. Their meanings are kind of similar too, so this reading should be a bit easier to remember!
球を投げる
to throw a ball
球をひろう
to pick up a ball
球を打つ
to hit a ball
球あそび
playing with a ball, playing pachinko
球ひろい
ball boy, ball girl (sports)
球けり
kicking a ball around
ボウリングの球
bowling ball
ビリヤードの球
billiard ball
自分の球
one's own ball
球がある
there is a ball
球が止まる
the ball stops
球が当たる
to be hit by a ball
ああっ！球がバンカーに入っちゃったよ。
Dammit! I hit the ball into a bunker.
ねぇ、新しい野球の球を買ったんだけど、一緒にキャッチボールしない？
Hey, I bought a new ball for baseball. Do you want to play catch with me?
球の体積を求める公式って何だっけ？
What was the formula for the volume of a sphere?