纳米 (nà mǐ) — nanometer | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

SI unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter (10⁻⁹ m). Used almost exclusively in technical and scientific contexts such as 纳米材料 and 纳米技术.

noun

nanometer

纳米。
Yí nà mǐ děng yú shí yì fēn zhī yī mǐ.
One nanometer equals one billionth of a meter.
纳米。
Zhè xiàng yán jiū yòng de shì nà mǐ cái liào.
This research uses nanomaterials.
纳米。
Tā men yòng nà mǐ jì shù zhì zào le xīn xīn piàn.
They used nanotechnology to manufacture new chips.

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 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk, thin thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

内

Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

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

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.

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