Definition
旬 (xún) is a bound-form classifier meaning 'ten-day period' — it always attaches to a prefix (上/中/下) to refer to the first, middle, or last ten days of a month. It also combines with numbers (e.g., 六旬, 七旬) to express age in decades, a more literary or formal usage.
classifier
ten-day period (one of three divisions of a month)ten years (in age expressions)
Easily confused
- 句jùlook-alike(classifier) for sentences, lines of verse, or short phrases
- 寻xúnsound-aliketo search, to look for, to seek
- 勿wùlook-alikedo not (formal, literary, used in signs and written prohibitions)
- 熏xūnsound-aliketo smoke, to fumigate (food, incense)
- 勾gōulook-alike(verb) to tick; to check off
- 驯xùnsound-aliketo tame (an animal or one's temper)
- 训xùnsound-aliketo train, to drill (skills, often physically)
Examples
- 。Zhège yuè de xià xún wǒ yào qù lǚxíng.I'm going to travel in the last ten days of this month.
- 旬，。Tā jīnnián yǐjīng qī xún le, shēntǐ hái hěn jiànkāng.He is already seventy years old this year, and still very healthy.
- 。Wǒmen gōngsī měi yuè de shàng xún kāi yí cì huì.Our company holds a meeting in the first ten days of each month.
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