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缩短 (suō duǎn) — to shorten, to cut down, to curtail

Definition

缩短 means to shorten something physical or temporal (a road, article, hours). Use 减少 for reducing quantities/amounts, and 削减/缩减 for cutting budgets or staff.

verb
to shortento cut downto curtail

Examples

  • 缩短。
    Gōng sī jué dìng bǎ gōng zuò shí jiān suō duǎn dào bā xiǎo shí.
    The company decided to shorten working hours to eight hours.
  • 缩短。
    Zhè tiáo lù suō duǎn le jiāng jìn yí bàn.
    This road has been shortened by nearly half.
  • 缩短。
    Qǐng bǎ nǐ de wén zhāng suō duǎn dào wǔ bǎi zì.
    Please shorten your essay to five hundred words.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

缩suōcontract
短duǎnshort

缩 means to contract, and 短 means short; together they give a shorter state.

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 縮; 缩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìstring, thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
宿
宿sù縮suō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 縮 pairs 糸 (string, thread) with 宿, which gives the sound; the simplified 缩 is a shorthand.

Open 缩 →

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
矢矢shǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu短duǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

Open 短 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Change & ProcessSize & Dimension

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