两万六千 (liǎng wàn liù qiān) — twenty-six thousand

Definition

numeral
twenty-six thousand

Examples

  • 两万六千。
    Wǒ měi gè yuè gōng zī shì liǎng wàn liù qiān kuài.
    My monthly salary is twenty-six thousand yuan.
  • 两万六千。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de rén kǒu yǒu liǎng wàn liù qiān rén.
    The population of this city is twenty-six thousand people.
  • 两万六千。
    Tā qù nián zhuàn le liǎng wàn liù qiān kuài qián.
    He earned twenty-six thousand yuan last year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

两万twenty thousand
两liǎngtwo万wànten thousand
偏正Modifier + head
六千six thousand
六liùsix千qiānthousand
偏正Modifier + head

两万 means twenty thousand and 六千 means six thousand; together they make twenty-six thousand.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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

The shape of 六 may come from a simple drawing of a shed, or from an ancient counting mark.

Open 六 →

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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