三秒 (sān miǎo) — three seconds | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

three seconds

Examples

三秒。
Zài děng sān miǎo jiù hǎo.
Just wait three more seconds and it'll be done.
三秒。
Zhěng gè dòng zuò zhǐ yòng le sān miǎo.
The entire move took only three seconds.
三秒。
Wǒ men zhǐ yǒu sān miǎo de shí jiān.
We only have three seconds of time.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾少秒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hécereal; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo秒miǎo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 秒 pairs 禾, a cereal or grain plant, with 少 giving the sound.

Appears in

Units & Measurement Time of Day

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