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数目 (shù mù) — amount, number

Definition

数目 means 'amount, total' — a countable or calculable quantity, as in 具体的数目 ('the specific total'). 数量 is the more common everyday word for general quantity; 数目 is slightly more formal.

noun
amountnumber
Easily confused

Examples

  • 数目。
    Zhè ge shù mù bú tài zhǔn què.
    This amount is not very accurate.
  • 数目。
    Nǐ chá yí xià jù tǐ de shù mù.
    Check the specific number.
  • 数目？
    Zhè xiē shù mù yí gòng shì duō shǎo?
    What is the total of these numbers?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

数shùnumber
目mùitem

数 means number and 目 means item; together they refer to the number of items.

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 數; 数 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu數shù(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 數 pairs 攴, the meaning part, with 婁, the sound part; the simplified 数 is a shorthand.

Open 数 →

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Numbers & Counting

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