十六秒 (shí liù miǎo) — sixteen seconds

Definition

noun
sixteen seconds

Examples

  • 十六秒。
    Bǐ sài zhǐ yòng le shí liù miǎo.
    The race only took sixteen seconds.
  • 十六秒。
    Tā zhǐ yòng le shí liù miǎo jiù wán chéng le cè shì.
    He completed the test in just sixteen seconds.
  • 十六秒。
    Zhè duàn shì pín zhǐ yǒu shí liù miǎo cháng.
    This video is only sixteen seconds long.

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.

十六sixteen
十shíten六liùsix
联合Side by side
秒miǎosecond

The count 十六 and 秒 (second) combine to mean sixteen seconds.

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 →

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 →

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
禾禾hécereal; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo秒miǎo
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.

Open 秒 →

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