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很小 (hěn xiǎo) — very small

Definition

adjective
very small

Examples

  • 很小，。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān hěn xiǎo, zhǐ néng fàng yì zhāng chuáng.
    This room is very small — it can only fit one bed.
  • 很小，。
    Tā de gǒu hěn xiǎo, kě ài jí le.
    Her dog is very small and extremely cute.
  • 很小，。
    Wǒ jiā fù jìn nà jiā kā fēi diàn hěn xiǎo, dàn rén hěn duō.
    The coffee shop near my home is very small, but there are many people.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn很hěn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

很 is made from 彳, which points to its meaning, and 艮, which gives its sound.

Open 很 →

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →
Appears in
Size & Dimension

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