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临时 (lín shí) — (adjective) temporary, interim; (adverb) at the last moment, on short notice

Definition

Use 临时 when something is done or arranged on short notice, often unexpectedly (an adverbial sense). As an adjective it means 'temporary' like 暂时 but emphasizes being last-minute rather than short-term.

adjective
temporaryinterim
adverb
at the last momenton short notice

Examples

  • 临时。
    Gōng sī xū yào yì xiē lín shí yuán gōng.
    The company needs some temporary employees.
  • 临时。
    Wǒ men lín shí jué dìng bú qù cān jiā jù huì le.
    We decided at the last moment not to go to the party.
  • 临时，。
    Tā lín shí yǒu shì, bù néng lái le.
    He had something come up at the last moment and can't come.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

临línapproach
时shítime

临 gives approaching, and 时 gives time, so it points to the moment just before something happens.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

Open 临 →

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →
Appears in
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