钟点 (zhōng diǎn) — appointed time; scheduled hour; hour (as a unit… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

appointed timescheduled hourhour (as a unit of time, often in compounds)

Examples

钟点，。
zhōng diǎn Dào le, wǒ men gāi chū fā le.
Time's up; we should leave now.
钟点。
Tā měi tiān gōng zuò bā gè zhōng diǎn.
He works eight hours every day.
。
Tā zhǎo le yí fèn zhōng diǎn gōng de gōng zuò.
She found a job as an hourly worker.

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.

钟 “clock” and 点 “point” give the sense of an hour or scheduled time.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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.

黑占點

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.

Appears in

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