七点 (qī diǎn) — seven o'clock | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

seven o'clock

七点。
Wǒ men qī diǎn jiàn miàn ba.
Let's meet at seven o'clock.
七点，。
Xiàn zài qī diǎn, gāi chī zǎo fàn le.
It's seven o'clock now, time for breakfast.
七点。
Tā měi tiān qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.
He gets up at seven o'clock every day.

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.

点diǎno'clock/point

The number 七 and the clock point 点 combine to mean seven o'clock.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 七 comes from two crossing lines: the top line runs left to right, and the next line goes down and across.

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

黑占點

Meaning part形符xíngfú

黑黑hēiblack

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn點diǎn(r)

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

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

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