四秒 (sì miǎo) — four seconds | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

four seconds

四秒。
Bǐ sài hái yǒu sì miǎo jiù jié shù le.
There are still four seconds left in the game.
四秒。
Tā pǎo wán yì bǎi mǐ zhǐ yòng le sì miǎo.
He finished the 100-meter dash in just four seconds.
四秒。
Qǐng děng dài sì miǎo zài àn àn niǔ.
Please wait four seconds before pressing the button.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾少秒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hécereal; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

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.