九零八 (jiǔ líng bā) — (number) 908; nine-zero-eight (used for room numbers, telephone numbers, flight numbers, etc.)

Definition

Nine-zero-eight, the way Chinese reads each digit separately in a number (used for room, phone, and flight numbers). Compare with other multi-digit numerals in this list — pronunciation follows the same individual-digit pattern.

numeral
(number) 908nine-zero-eight (used for room numbers, telephone numbers, flight numbers, etc.)

Examples

  • 九零八。
    Wǒ zhù zài jiǔ líng bā hào fáng jiān.
    I live in room 908.
  • 九零八。
    Qǐng bō dǎ jiǔ líng bā yī èr sān sì.
    Please dial 908-1234.
  • 九零八。
    Zhè tàng háng bān shì jiǔ líng bā cì.
    This flight is flight 908.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng零líng
Same sound today

In 零, the 雨 part depicts thick raindrops falling from the sky; the 令 part gives the sound.

Open 零 →

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

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

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