三点十七 (sān diǎn shí qī) — 3:17 (time)

Definition

Reads as 'three seventeen' (3:17). In Chinese, the hour and minutes are stated separately — 点 for the hour, then the minute number — unlike English 'three-seventeen'.

numeral
3:17 (time)

Examples

  • 三点十七。
    Xiàn zài sān diǎn shí qī.
    It's 3:17 now.
  • 三点十七。
    Wǒ men sān diǎn shí qī jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's meet at 3:17.
  • 三点十七。
    Huǒ chē sān diǎn shí qī chū fā.
    The train departs at 3:17.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

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.

Open 点 →

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 of 七 comes from two crossing lines: the top line runs left to right, and the next line goes down and across.

Open 七 →

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