瞬 (shùn) — blink of an eye; instant; very brief moment
Definition
瞬 is a bound morpheme — it only appears in compounds like 瞬间 and 转瞬, never as a standalone word. It means 'a blink of an eye, an instant.'
bound form
blink of an eyeinstantvery brief moment
Examples
- ，。Shí jiān guò dé zhēn kuài, yí shùn jiù guò qù le.Time passes so fast, it's gone in a blink.
- ，。shùn Jiān, tā zuò chū le jué dìng.In an instant, he made a decision.
- ，。Zhuǎn shùn zhī jiān, tā yǐ jīng pǎo yuǎn le.In the blink of an eye, he had already run far away.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
舜
舜shùn瞬shùn
Same sound today
瞬 has 目, an eye, next to 舜, which provides the pronunciation.
Appears in
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