九十八 (jiǔ shí bā) — ninety-eight

Definition

numeral
ninety-eight

Examples

  • 九十八。
    Tā jīn nián jiǔ shí bā suì le.
    He is ninety-eight years old this year.
  • 九十八。
    Wǒ mǎi le jiǔ shí bā gè píng guǒ.
    I bought ninety-eight apples.
  • 九十八。
    Kǎo shì chéng jì shì jiǔ shí bā fēn.
    The exam score is ninety-eight points.

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.

九十90
九jiǔnine十shíten
偏正Modifier + head
八bāeight

'九十' gives 90 and '八' adds 8, making 98.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from a stylized hand bent at the wrist, with the lower-right hook showing the bend. Later, it was taken to show a tightened fist bumping up to ten, giving the number nine.

Open 九 →

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

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

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

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

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