倒数

倒數
dàoshù / dàoshǔ
noun #4,209

Meanings

  1. 1 reciprocal (of a number)
  2. 2 inverse number

Examples

HSK 4
二的倒数是二分之一。
Èr de dàoshù shì èr fēn zhī yī.
The reciprocal of two is one half.
HSK 5
Yí ge shù chéngyǐ tā de dàoshù děngyú yī.
A number multiplied by its reciprocal equals one.
HSK 6
Lǎoshī ràng wǒmen qiú zhège fēnshù de dàoshù.
The teacher asked us to work out the reciprocal of this fraction.

Tips

mistakes
Same characters as the countdown word. Read 倒数 it is a verb, to count backwards. With a fourth tone on 数 it is this noun, where 数 means number rather than to count.
usage
School maths vocabulary. Two numbers whose product is one are each other's 倒数, and taking the reciprocal of a fraction simply swaps its 分子 and 分母, the numerator and the denominator.

Stroke Order

倒 dǎo
数 shù