期限 (qī xiàn) — time limit; deadline | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

期限 is the time limit or deadline allowed for completing something. It focuses on duration, unlike 限度, which is a limit on amount, degree, or scope.

noun

time limitdeadline

Examples

期限。
Zhè ge xiàng mù de qī xiàn hěn jǐn zhāng.
The deadline for this project is very tight.
期限。
Qǐng zài qī xiàn qián bǎ bào gào jiāo shàng lái.
Please submit the report before the deadline.
，期限。
Hé tong xià ge yuè dào qī, wǒ men dé zài qī xiàn qián qiān xīn hé tong.
The contract expires next month, so we need to sign a new one before the deadline.

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.

期 names the time and 限 the boundary, forming a time limit.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

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

⻖Written in full as阜fùmound

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn限xiàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

限 pairs ⻖ (mound, written 阜) with 艮 as a sound part; the mound side gives the sense of a boundary or limit.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Time (Abstract)

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.