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四十八 (sì shí bā) — forty-eight

Definition

numeral
forty-eight

Examples

  • 四十八。
    Zhè běn shū yí gòng sì shí bā yè.
    This book has 48 pages in total.
  • 四十八。
    Wǒ yé ye jīn nián sì shí bā suì.
    My grandfather is 48 this year.
  • 四十八。
    Zhè ge bān yǒu sì shí bā gè xué shēng.
    This class has 48 students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

四十forty
四sìfour十shíten
偏正Modifier + head
八bāeight

“四” and “十” make forty, and “八” adds eight.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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.

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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