名额 (míng é) — (noun) quota; number of places; spot or place (in an institution, program, competition, etc.)

Definition

名额 is the number of available slots or positions, especially for admissions, recruitment, or events. Compared to 指标, it focuses on countable openings rather than targets or metrics.

noun
quotanumber of placesspot or place (in an institution, program, competition, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 名额。
    Gōng sī jīn nián yǒu wǔ gè zhāo pìn míng é.
    The company has five recruitment slots this year.
  • 名额，。
    Huì yì míng é yǒu xiàn, qǐng jǐn kuài bào míng.
    The conference has limited spots, please register as soon as possible.
  • 名额。
    Shēn qǐng jiǎng xué jīn míng é jìng zhēng hěn jī liè.
    The competition for scholarship slots is fierce.

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.

名míngnames; places
额élimit; amount

额 (limit or amount) is counted by 名 (names or places), giving a quota.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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 額; 额 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
客
客kè額é
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 額 combines 頁 (head), which points to the meaning, with 客, which gives the sound. The simplified 额 is a later abbreviation.

Open 额 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Quantity & Amount

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