秒

miǎo

少 + 禾

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

miǎo (noun) second (unit of time)

miǎo (adverb) instantly; in an instant

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 禾 represents the meaning and 少 represents the sound.

Semantic: 禾 Phonetic: 少

About

秒 is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 禾 (grain) on the left gives the meaning, while the component 少 on the right provides the sound. Its original meaning was the extremely fine, hair-like beard at the very tip of an ear of grain, a detail so small it is barely visible. This sense of extreme minuteness led to the character being adopted for a tiny unit of measurement, eventually becoming the standard term for a second of time and an arcsecond. The component 少, which itself means "few" or "little", also subtly reinforces the idea of something infinitesimal.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

时间一秒一秒地过去。

Shíjiān yī miǎo yī miǎo de guòqù.

Time passes second by second.

秒针走得非常准确。

Miǎozhēn zǒu dé fēicháng zhǔnquè.

The second hand moves very accurately.

他仅仅用了十秒钟。

Tā jǐnjǐn yòngle shí miǎozhōng.

He used only ten seconds.

我们分秒必争地工作。

Wǒmen fēn miǎo bì zhēng de gōngzuò.

We work racing against every minute and second.

他的反应速度快了几秒。

Tā de fǎnyìng sùdù kuài le jǐ miǎo.

His reaction speed was a few seconds faster.

这台电脑启动只要五秒。

Zhè tái diànnǎo qǐdòng zhǐ yào wǔ miǎo.

This computer takes only five seconds to start up.

她在比赛的最后几秒反超。

Tā zài bǐsài de zuìhòu jǐ miǎo fǎnchāo.

She overtook in the last few seconds of the race.

这件商品刚上架就被秒杀。

Zhè jiàn shāngpǐn gāng shàngjià jiù bèi miǎoshā.

This item sold out instantly as soon as it was listed.

Related Characters

Component: 少

Component: 禾

秒