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八百 (bā bǎi) — eight hundred; 800

Definition

numeral
eight hundred800

Examples

  • 八百。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān néng zuò bā bǎi rén.
    This room can seat 800 people.
  • 八百。
    Tā měi gè yuè zhuàn bā bǎi kuài qián.
    He earns 800 yuan per month.
  • 八百。
    Zhè běn shū yǒu bā bǎi yè.
    This book has 800 pages.

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.

八bāeight
百bǎihundred

八 “eight” specifies how many 百 “hundreds”.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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