一刹那 (yí chà nà) — a moment; a very short time

Definition

Literary phrase for 'a moment, an instant' — more emphatic and written than the everyday 一下 or 会儿. Often used in fixed expressions like 一刹那之间.

noun

a momenta very short time

一刹那，。
yí chà nà, Tā míng bai le zhēn xiàng.
In a flash, he understood the truth.
一刹那，。
yí chà nà Zhī jiān, yí qiè dōu biàn le.
In an instant, everything changed.
一刹那。
Nà zhǐ shì yí chà nà de shì.
That was just a matter of a moment.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刹那moment

一 and 刹那 together give the idea of one moment, hence a very short time.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 剎; 刹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

殺

殺shā剎shā

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 剎 combines 殺 for sound with 刂 (written fully as 刀, a knife) for meaning; the simplified 刹 is a later abbreviation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

邑邑yìcity

Sound part声符shēngfú

冄

冉rǎn那nà

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The right part 邑 shows a city, and the left part 冄 (written 冉) gives the sound. The character first named a state and was later used to mean 'that'.

Appears in