How to say “shorten” in Chinese
shorten (length, time)
“Shorten” in Chinese is 缩短, suō duǎn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
缩短 is read suō duǎn: 2 syllables. 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, 纟 “thread”: pulling tight. On the right, 宿 sù hints at the reading.
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 “缩短”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 缩短. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 高铁缩短了两个城市的距离。gāotiěsuōduǎnleliǎnggechéngshìdejùlíThe high-speed railway has shortened the distance between the two cities.
More words from the lesson “Two cities in numbers”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “shorten” in Chinese?
“Shorten” in Chinese is 缩短, pinyin suōduǎn.
What does 缩短 mean?
缩短 (suōduǎn) means “shorten (length, time)”.
How do you write 缩短?
缩短 is 2 characters: 缩 (suō) — shrink, reduce; 短 (duǎn) — short. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 缩短?
缩短 is read suōduǎn. Tones: suō — first tone, duǎn — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“shorten” in the lesson “Two cities in numbers”
This word is from the topic “Measurements and data” of HSK 5. 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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