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时段 (shí duàn) — time period; interval; time slot; (work) shift; (historical) one of the twelve two-hour divisions of a day

Definition

时段 names a defined window or slot on a schedule (a TV slot, a work shift, rush hour). 班 focuses on the people doing the shift; 期间 marks a duration an event occurs within.

noun
time periodintervaltime slot(work) shift(historical) one of the twelve two-hour divisions of a day
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 时段。
    Zhè ge shí duàn shì jiāo tōng gāo fēng qī.
    This time period is rush hour.
  • 时段。
    Diàn shì shàng zuì hǎo de jié mù dōu ān pái zài huáng jīn shí duàn.
    The best TV shows are all scheduled during prime time.
  • 时段。
    Yè bān shí duàn cóng wǎn shàng shí diǎn kāi shǐ.
    The night shift time slot starts at 10 PM.

Origin

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.

时shítime
段duànsegment

时 means time and 段 means segment, so it means a segment of time.

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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
殳殳shū
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng段duàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

段's shape shows 殳 as a hammer breaking a stone, with fragments flying off.

Open 段 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Time (Abstract)

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