三四 (sān sì) — three or four (approximately a small number) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

numeral

three or four (approximately a small number)

Examples

三四。
Tā děng le sān sì tiān.
He waited for three or four days.
三四。
Jiào shì lǐ yǒu sān sì gè rén.
There are three or four people in the classroom.
三四。
Zhè ge wèn tí wǒ huí dá le sān sì cì.
I answered this question three or four times.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

三 and 四 are adjacent numbers, together indicating a small approximate amount.

Characters in this word

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

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Appears in

Numbers & Counting

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