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四点 (sì diǎn) — four o'clock

Definition

noun
four o'clock

Examples

  • 四点。
    Wǒ měi tiān sì diǎn qǐ chuáng.
    I get up at four every day.
  • 四点。
    Huì yì xià wǔ sì diǎn kāi shǐ.
    The meeting starts at four in the afternoon.
  • 四点。
    Wǒ men yuē zài sì diǎn jiàn miàn.
    Let's meet at four.

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.

四sìfour
点diǎnhour mark

四 gives the number, and 点 marks an hour.

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 →

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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