五六十 (wǔ liù shí) — fifty or sixty; fifty to sixty (approximate number)

Definition

Approximate number meaning 'fifty or sixty / around 50–60'. Spoken shorthand for a round estimate in that range, used like any other 数词 before a measure word.

numeral
fifty or sixtyfifty to sixty (approximate number)

Examples

  • 五六十。
    Jiào shì lǐ yǒu wǔ liù shí gè xué shēng.
    There are fifty or sixty students in the classroom.
  • 五六十。
    Tā měi tiān yào huā wǔ liù shí fēn zhōng duàn liàn.
    He spends fifty to sixty minutes exercising every day.
  • 五六十。
    Zhè ge gōng sī yǒu wǔ liù shí míng yuán gōng.
    This company has fifty or sixty employees.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

五六five or six
五wǔfive六liùsix
联合Side by side
十shíten

五六 (five or six) with 十 (ten) gives fifty or sixty.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The shape of 六 may come from a simple drawing of a shed, or from an ancient counting mark.

Open 六 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.