三千五百 (sān qiān wǔ bǎi) — 3500; three thousand five hundred

Definition

A compound numeral reading 三千五百 (sān qiān wǔ bǎi). Used for 3500 — combine 千 and 百 directly without a measure word for the total.

numeral
3500three thousand five hundred

Examples

  • 三千五百。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu sān qiān wǔ bǎi rén kǒu.
    This city has 3,500 people.
  • 三千五百。
    Wǒ huā le sān qiān wǔ bǎi yuán mǎi le zhè tái diàn nǎo.
    I spent 3,500 yuan to buy this computer.
  • 三千五百。
    Xué xiào yǒu sān qiān wǔ bǎi míng xué shēng.
    The school has 3,500 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.

三千three thousand
三sānthree千qiānthousand
偏正Modifier + head
五百five hundred
五wǔfive百bǎihundred
偏正Modifier + head

三 with 千 gives three thousand, and 五 with 百 gives five hundred, together 3500.

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 →

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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