九秒 (jiǔ miǎo) — nine seconds

Definition

noun
nine seconds

Examples

  • 九秒。
    Tā pǎo wán yì bǎi mǐ zhǐ yòng le jiǔ miǎo.
    He ran a hundred meters in only nine seconds.
  • 九秒。
    Qǐng děng dài jiǔ miǎo zài àn àn niǔ.
    Please wait nine seconds before pressing the button.
  • 九秒。
    Zhè ge shì pín zhǐ yǒu jiǔ miǎo cháng.
    This video is only nine seconds long.

Origin

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 →

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
禾禾hécereal; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo秒miǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 秒 pairs 禾, a cereal or grain plant, with 少 giving the sound.

Open 秒 →

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