三十九 (sān shí jiǔ) — thirty-nine

Definition

numeral
thirty-nine
Easily confused

Examples

  • 三十九。
    Tā jīn nián sān shí jiǔ suì.
    He is thirty-nine years old this year.
  • 三十九。
    Zhè běn shū yǒu sān shí jiǔ yè.
    This book has thirty-nine pages.
  • 三十九。
    Wǒ men bān yǒu sān shí jiǔ gè xué shēng.
    Our class has thirty-nine students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

三十thirty
三sānthree十shíten
偏正Modifier + head
九jiǔnine

The thirty and nine parts add together to make thirty-nine.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from a stylized hand bent at the wrist, with the lower-right hook showing the bend. Later, it was taken to show a tightened fist bumping up to ten, giving the number nine.

Open 九 →

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