英寸
The English phrase "inches" is translated to Chinese as 英寸.
In modern Chinese, 英寸 is used almost exclusively for the international imperial inch, especially in technical, manufacturing or mathematical contexts. You may also encounter the phrase 请问多少寸? when asking "May I ask how many inches?"
What does it mean word for word?
The word 英寸 is composed of two parts: the character 英 (yīng), which means English or British and the character 寸 (cùn), which is a traditional Chinese unit of length.
Which one should you use?
While 英寸 specifically refers to the Western imperial inch, the word 寸 alone refers to the traditional Chinese unit of length, which is approximately 3.3 cm.
Did you know?
- The character 寸 was originally a pictograph of a hand with a finger pointing to the wrist, representing the distance from the wrist crease to the first joint of the index finger.
- In traditional Chinese medicine, the length of a single 寸 (cùn) is used as a standard unit to map out the proportions of the human body for acupuncture points.
- In Chinese, the character 寸 is also used in the idiom 寸草不生, which describes a place where 'not even an inch of grass grows', implying extreme desolation.
Examples in context
- 天气预报说会下三英寸雪。The weather report says we'll get three inches of snow.This sentence is useful for talking about snow measurements using 英寸.Tatoeba #5640750 by verdastelo9604, translation #2537296 by CK
- 他比我高三英寸。He's three inches taller than I am.This sentence is useful for describing height differences using 英寸.Tatoeba #875323 by Martha, translation #287533 by CK
- 我比你高三英寸。I'm three inches taller than you.Tatoeba #9955499 by Akh2403, translation #6223272 by CK
- 请将这个线段的长度用英寸表示。Please express the length of this line segment in inches.
- 我们需要将尺寸换算成英寸。We need to convert the measurements into inches.
- 这台电视有五十寸宽。This TV is fifty inches wide.
Example conversation
Two people are checking the screen size of a new tablet.
- 梓涵 Zihan这个屏幕有十英寸吗？Zhège píngmù yǒu shí yīngcùn ma?Is this screen ten inches?
- 伟 Wei不是，它只有九英寸。Bú shì, tā zhǐyǒu jiǔ yīngcùn.No, it is only nine inches.
- 梓涵 Zihan那稍微有点小了。Nà shāowēi yǒudiǎn xiǎo le.Then it is a bit small.
- 伟 Wei梓涵，我想买大一点的。Zǐhán, wǒ xiǎng mǎi dà yīdiǎn de.Zihan, I want to buy a slightly larger one.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
