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三角 (sān jiǎo) — (noun) triangle (a three-sided polygon); (adjective) triangular

Definition

In math, 三角 is the standard term for a triangle (as in 三角形). It also forms set phrases like 三角关系 ('love triangle') — note this implies three people entangled, not just 'triangular relationship'.

noun
triangle (a three-sided polygon)
adjective
triangular
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 三角。
    Zhè ge sān jiǎo de miàn jī shì shí píng fāng mǐ.
    The area of this triangle is ten square meters.
  • 三角。
    Tā mǎi le yì tiáo sān jiǎo pī jiān.
    She bought a triangular shawl.
  • 三角。
    Tā men zhī jiān de sān jiǎo guān xì hěn fù zá.
    The triangular relationship among them is very complicated.

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
角jiǎocorner or angle

三 means three and 角 means corner or angle, giving a three-cornered shape.

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 →

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Shapes

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