六秒 (liù miǎo) — six seconds | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

six seconds

六秒。
Bǐ sài zhǐ yòng le liù miǎo jiù jié shù le.
The competition ended in just six seconds.
六秒。
Tā pǎo yì bǎi mǐ yòng le bú dào liù miǎo.
He ran 100 meters in under six seconds.
六秒。
Huǒ jiàn fā shè hòu liù miǎo nèi shēng kōng.
The rocket lifted off within six seconds after launch.

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.

禾少秒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hécereal; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 秒 pairs 禾, a cereal or grain plant, with 少 giving the sound.