刹那间 (chà nà jiān) — in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'in an instant' — used mainly in writing, not everyday speech. Same idea as 转眼间 but more bookish.

idiom

in an instantin the twinkling of an eye

刹那间，。
chà nà jiān, Tiān kōng tū rán àn le xià lái.
In an instant, the sky suddenly darkened.
刹那间，。
chà nà jiān, Tā míng bai le suǒ yǒu de zhēn xiàng.
In a flash, he understood all the truth.
刹那间，。
chà nà jiān, Yí dào shǎn diàn huá pò le yè kōng.
In an instant, a bolt of lightning split the night sky.

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.

刹那instant

音译Transliteration

刹那 gives the instant and 间 gives the span, together meaning 'in an instant'.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 剎; 刹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

殺

殺shā剎shā

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 剎 combines 殺 for sound with 刂 (written fully as 刀, a knife) for meaning; the simplified 刹 is a later abbreviation.

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

邑邑yìcity

Sound part声符shēngfú

冄

冉rǎn那nà

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The right part 邑 shows a city, and the left part 冄 (written 冉) gives the sound. The character first named a state and was later used to mean 'that'.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.