四点十五 (sì diǎn shí wǔ) — 4:15, quarter past four

Definition

numeral
4:15quarter past four

Examples

  • 四点十五。
    Wǒ men xià wǔ sì diǎn shí wǔ jiàn miàn.
    We'll meet at 4:15 pm.
  • 四点十五。
    Xiàn zài zhèng hǎo sì diǎn shí wǔ.
    It's exactly 4:15 now.
  • 四点十五。
    sì diǎn shí wǔ De huǒ chē yǐ jīng kāi le.
    The 4:15 train has already left.

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 →

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn點diǎn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

Open 点 →

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 →

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