四十五分 (sì shí wǔ fēn) — forty-five minutes

Definition

noun
forty-five minutes
Measure word · 分钟

Examples

  • 四十五分。
    Zhè ge diàn yǐng yì xiǎo shí sì shí wǔ fēn cháng.
    This movie is one hour and 45 minutes long.
  • 四十五分。
    Wǒ měi tiān pǎo bù sì shí wǔ fēn.
    I run for 45 minutes every day.
  • 四十五分。
    Tā chí dào le sì shí wǔ fēn.
    He was 45 minutes late.

Origin

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.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Open 分 →

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