瞬时 (shùn shí) — instantaneous; happening in an instant | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/technical term for 'instantaneous' — describes a process so brief it has effectively no duration, as in physics or engineering contexts. Pairs with nouns like 速度 (speed) or 反应时间 (reaction time).

adjective

instantaneoushappening in an instant

Examples

瞬时。
Qì chē zài pèng zhuàng qián de shùn shí sù dù fēi cháng gāo.
The car's instantaneous speed just before the collision was very high.
瞬时。
Zhè ge xì tǒng kě yǐ cè liáng shùn shí fǎn yìng shí jiān.
This system can measure instantaneous reaction time.
，瞬时。
Shǎn guāng dēng yí liàng, hēi àn jiù shùn shí xiāo shī le.
As soon as the flash went off, the darkness disappeared instantly.

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.

A blink (瞬) of time (时) gives instantaneous.

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.

目舜瞬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

舜

舜shùn瞬shùn

Same sound today

瞬 has 目, an eye, next to 舜, which provides the pronunciation.

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.

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