寸 (cùn) · a traditional Chinese unit of length (about 3.33 cm)

Meanings

1 a traditional Chinese unit of length (about 3.33 cm)
2 inch (informal usage)

Examples

HSK 3

她的照片是两寸的。

Tā de zhàopiàn shì liǎng cùn de.

Her photo is two inches.

HSK 4

一寸光阴一寸金。

Yí cùn guāngyīn yí cùn jīn.

An inch of time is worth an inch of gold.

HSK 6

得寸进尺。

Décùn-jìnchǐ.

Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.

Tips

culture

一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴 is a classic Chinese proverb: 'An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time.' It teaches the preciousness of time.

usage

In modern usage, 寸 often refers to screen size in inches (e.g., 6.7寸屏幕, a 6.7-inch screen) or photo sizes (一寸照片, a 1-inch ID photo).

Components

pictograph

寸 cùn

Chinese inch; a small distance

Self-component. Shows a hand 又 with a small dot marking the 寸口, the pulse point on the wrist about a Chinese inch below the base of the palm. The dot is the pulse-mark, and the palm-to-pulse distance defines one cùn. 寸 is itself Kangxi radical 41 and indexes 对, 寻, 寺, 封.

Radical

Inch Kangxi #41

The 寸 radical, drawn as a hand with a dot at the pulse point, the inch-mark on the wrist used in Chinese medicine. Indexes characters tied to handling, judging, and rule-bound action: 寺, 对, 寻, 封, 射, 尊, 导. The hand-meaning is invisible in the modern unit-of-length sense.