三时 (sān shí) — three o'clock

Definition

noun
three o'clock
Easily confused

Examples

  • 三时。
    Wǒ měi tiān sān shí qǐ chuáng.
    I get up at three o'clock every day.
  • 三时。
    Huì yì zài sān shí kāi shǐ.
    The meeting starts at three o'clock.
  • 三时。
    Tā sān shí dào jī chǎng.
    He arrives at the airport at three o'clock.

Origin

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.

三sānthree
时shíhour

三 'three' specifies which 时 'hour' is meant.

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.

Open 三 →

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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