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英寸 (yīng cùn) — inch (unit of length)

Definition

classifier
inch (unit of length)

Examples

  • 英寸。
    Zhè kuài píng mù yǒu shí wǔ yīng cùn.
    This screen is 15 inches.
  • ，英寸。
    Qǐng liáng yí xià, zhè ge zhuō zi cháng sān shí yīng cùn.
    Please measure — this table is 30 inches long.
  • 英寸。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi kuān èr shí yīng cùn.
    This box is 20 inches wide.

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.

英yīngEnglish
寸cùninch/unit

英 points to the English measure, while 寸 is a traditional unit of length.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
央
央yāng英yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Open 英 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

寸 has two unrelated original forms: a line on the hand and an abbreviated form of another character. It was borrowed for its sound, so the picture is unrelated to the modern meaning.

Open 寸 →
Appears in
Units & Measurement5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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