How to say “short” in Chinese
short
“Short” in Chinese is 短, duǎn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
短 is read duǎn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 矢 “arrow”, as in 矮 “short (in height)”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “短”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 短. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 这条裙子有点儿短zhètiáoqúnziyǒudiǎnrduǎnThis skirt is a bit short.
- 这条裙子不长不短。zhètiáoqúnzibùchángbùduǎnThis skirt is neither long nor short.
- 我给你发了一条短信wǒgěinǐfāleyìtiáoduǎnxìnI sent you a text.
- 你怎么还没回复我的短信？nǐzěnmeháiméihuífùwǒdeduǎnxìnWhy haven't you replied to my text yet?
- 她把头发剪短了tābǎtóufajiǎnduǎnleShe cut her hair short.
- 你的头发怎么这么短？nǐdetóufazěnmezhèmeduǎnWhy is your hair so short?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Shirt, coat, skirt”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “short” in Chinese?
“Short” in Chinese is 短, pinyin duǎn.
What does 短 mean?
短 (duǎn) means “short”.
How do you write 短?
短 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 短?
短 is read duǎn. Tones: duǎn — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“short” in the lesson “Shirt, coat, skirt”
This word is from the topic “Shopping and things” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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