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四十九 (sì shí jiǔ) — forty-nine

Definition

numeral
forty-nine

Examples

  • 四十九。
    Tā jīn nián sì shí jiǔ suì.
    He is forty-nine years old this year.
  • 四十九。
    Zhè běn shū yǒu sì shí jiǔ yè.
    This book has forty-nine pages.
  • 四十九。
    Wǒ men bān yǒu sì shí jiǔ gè xué shēng.
    Our class has forty-nine students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

四十forty
四sìfour十shíten
偏正Modifier + head
九jiǔnine

The number is built by joining 四十 and 九, so it means 40 plus 9.

Characters in this word

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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.

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 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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