四十分 (sì shí fēn) — 40 minutes

Definition

noun
40 minutes
Measure word · 分

Examples

  • 四十分，。
    Kǎo shì shí jiān zhǐ yǒu sì shí fēn, nǐ yào zhuā jǐn.
    The exam only lasts 40 minutes, you need to hurry.
  • 四十分，。
    Tā měi tiān pǎo bù sì shí fēn, jiān chí le bàn nián.
    He runs for 40 minutes every day and has kept it up for half a year.
  • 四十分。
    Zhè jié kè hái yǒu sì shí fēn cái jié shù.
    This class still has 40 minutes before it ends.

Origin

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 →

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

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Open 分 →

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