寸
HSK 5freq #4381
Meanings
CC-CEDICT
- 1.a unit of length
- 2.inch
- 3.thumb
CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA
Wiktionary
- 1.A cun or Chinese inch, a traditional unit of length of about 3 cm.
- 2.Legally defined as the tsun of 3.71475 cm.
- 3.very short or little
- 4.cunkou pulse; radial artery pulse at the wrist
- 5.coincidental; unbelievable; opportune
- 6.a surname
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Etymology
Two separate characters with this form exist: * Jiajie (假借): abbreviated form of 尊 (OC *ʔsuːn), borrowed to refer to 寸 (OC *sʰuːns, “a unit of measurement”). * Ideogram (指事): a line on the hand, emphasizing the elbow. Original form of 肘 (OC *tkuʔ, “elbow”). Shuowen considered it to represent a position on the forearm where the pulse can be palpated by compressing the radial artery. It is called 寸口 in modern Chinese, and the meaning of a unit of measurement is derived from the distance between the wrist and this position. Compare 又, 手, 九, 爪.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Stroke order
Components
寸𠂇㇚㇔
Components from cjk-decomp · MIT
Example sentences
她哭得肝腸寸斷。
She cried her heart out.
Sentences from Tatoeba · CC-BY 2.0 FR
More examples & usage (AI)
Derived terms
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Related words
尺寸 size; dimensions; measurements (esp. of clothes)分寸 propriety英寸 inch (unit of length equal to 2.54 cm.)寸脉 pulse taken at the wrist (TCM)公寸 decimeter板寸 buzz cut (hairstyle)寸口 location on wrist over the radial artery where pulse is taken in TCM寸头 (male hair style) crew cut寸晷 see 寸阴[cùn yīn]方寸 square cun (Chinese unit of area: 1 cun × 1 cun, or 3⅓ cm × 3⅓ cm)市寸 cun (Chinese unit of length equal to ⅓ decimeter)寸阴 a very brief period of time (lit. the time it takes for a shadow to move an inch)