Example sentences
duō多yùn运dòng动yǒu有hǎo好chù处。
Exercise is good for you.
tā他ài爱yùn运dòng动。
He loves sports.
About this word
运 is to move or transport, 动 is to move, so 运动 is movement doubled into a noun. It stretches from exercise to motion itself, and it also covers a political movement, which is how Chinese writes 运动 in a history book. 做运动 or 运动一下 means to get some exercise, and 运动会 is a sports meet. The pattern of stacking two words of similar meaning to make a free-standing noun is everywhere once you start looking.
The story behind the character
运
运 is 辶, a foot on the move, with 云 supplying the sound. The older form 運 put 軍 under the walking radical instead. Xu Shen wrote 运，迻徙也, to shift from one place to another. That covers 运动: your body moving around, and anything else that goes from here to there.
动
动 is 力 (force) with 云 on the left. The older form 動 had 重 (heavy) sitting under the muscle instead, which is exactly what moving something heavy takes. Xu Shen wrote 动，作也, to act, to get a thing done. The simplified version made the character lighter and kept the muscle.