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神速 (shén sù) — extremely fast, lightning speed

Definition

adjective
extremely fastlightning speed

Examples

  • 神速，。
    Tā zuò shì shén sù, hěn kuài jiù wán chéng le.
    He works extremely fast and finishes quickly.
  • 神速。
    Zhōng guó gāo tiě de fā zhǎn sù dù kān chēng shén sù.
    The development speed of China's high-speed rail can be called lightning fast.
  • 神速。
    Wǒ men yòng shén sù de fǎn yìng zhuā zhù le jī huì.
    We seized the opportunity with lightning-fast reactions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

神shéndivine
速sùspeed

神 suggests divine or miraculous, and 速 means speed, together describing lightning-fast movement.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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
辵辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
束
束shù速sù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

速 pairs 辵, the walking part, with 束, which is used for its sound; the walking part fits the meaning of moving fast.

Open 速 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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