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十二点 (shí èr diǎn) — twelve o'clock

Definition

noun
twelve o'clock

Examples

  • 十二点。
    Wǒ men yuē zài shí èr diǎn jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's meet at twelve o'clock.
  • 十二点，。
    Xiàn zài shì zhōng wǔ shí èr diǎn, gāi chī wǔ fàn le.
    It's noon, time for lunch.
  • 十二点。
    Tā měi tiān bàn yè shí èr diǎn cái huí jiā.
    He doesn't come home until midnight every day.

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.

十二twelve
十shíten二èrtwo
联合Coordinate
点diǎno'clock

十二 (twelve) plus 点 (o'clock) gives the time twelve.

Characters in this word

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn點diǎn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

Open 点 →
Appears in
Time of Day

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