五六百 (wǔ liù bǎi) — (numeral/quantity) around five or six hundred, approximately 500–600

Definition

A casual approximation meaning 'around five or six hundred' — a single round number rather than a precise figure. Used in everyday speech when an exact count isn't needed.

numeral
(numeral/quantity) around five or six hundredapproximately 500–600

Examples

  • 五六百。
    Zhè ge fáng zi dà gài yào wǔ liù bǎi kuài qián.
    This house probably costs around five or six hundred yuan.
  • 五六百。
    Wǒ men bān yǒu wǔ liù bǎi gè xué shēng.
    Our class has about five or six hundred students.
  • 五六百。
    Tā měi gè yuè gōng zī yǒu wǔ liù bǎi kuài.
    His monthly salary is around five or six hundred.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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