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宽度 (kuān dù) — width

Definition

宽度 is the noun for 'width' as a measurable quantity. Unlike the adjective 宽 ('wide'), 宽度 is used when giving a specific number or asking for dimensions.

noun
width

Examples

  • 宽度？
    Chuāng hu de kuān dù shì duō shǎo?
    What is the width of the window?
  • 宽度。
    Zhè tiáo lù de kuān dù shì sān mǐ.
    The width of this road is three meters.
  • ，宽度。
    Zhè liǎng kuài bù de cháng dù yí yàng, dàn kuān dù bù tóng.
    These two pieces of cloth have the same length but different widths.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

宽kuānwide
度dùdegree

宽 means 'wide' and 度 gives the sense of measured degree, so the word names how wide something is.

Characters in this word

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 寬; 宽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
萈
萈huán寬kuān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寬 pairs 宀, a house, with 萈, a goat used for sound, to show a spacious house; the simplified 宽 is a later abbreviation.

Open 宽 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Size & Dimension

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