六亿 (liù yì) — six hundred million (600,000,000)

Definition

numeral

six hundred million (600,000,000)

六亿。
Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu liù yì rén kǒu.
This city has a population of 600 million.
六亿。
Gōng sī qù nián zhuàn le liù yì.
The company made 600 million last year.
六亿？
liù yì Shì duō shǎo gè yì bǎi wàn?
How many millions make 600 million?

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.

亿yìhundred million

六 gives the count and 亿 the hundred-million unit, so the number is six hundred million.

Characters in this word

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.

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 億; 亿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

意

Same sound today

The traditional form 億 pairs 人 (person) with 意 for its sound; the simplified 亿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original pieces.