直线 (zhíxiàn) · straight line

Measure Word

一条直线 tiáo

Meanings

1 straight line
2 linear; in a straight line

Characters

A straight line.

Examples

HSK 2

请画一条直线。

Qǐng huà yìtiáo zhíxiàn.

Please draw a straight line.

HSK 4

两点之间直线最短。

Liǎng diǎn zhījiān zhíxiàn zuì duǎn.

A straight line is the shortest distance between two points.

HSK 4

气温直线下降。

Qìwēn zhíxiàn xiàjiàng.

The temperature dropped sharply (in a straight line).

Tips

usage

直线 can be used figuratively: 直线上升/下降 means 'to rise/drop sharply' (like a straight vertical line on a graph).

usage

曲线 = curve. 直线距离 = straight-line distance (as the crow flies).

Stroke Order

直 zhí

线 xiàn

Related Words

视线 shìxiàn HSK 7-9 #4,816

line of sight / gaze / field of vision

底线 dǐxiàn HSK 7-9 #5,289

bottom line / baseline; minimum standard / boundary one refuses to cross

直觉 zhíjué HSK 7-9 #3,059

intuition / gut feeling

直升机 zhíshēngjī HSK 7-9 #2,532

helicopter

前线 qiánxiàn HSK 7-9 #7,398

front line / frontline / battlefront

曲线 qūxiàn HSK 7-9 #7,960

curve / curved line

正直 zhèngzhí HSK 7-9 #5,476

upright; honest; righteous

直视 zhíshì HSK 7-9 #11,480

to look straight at / to face squarely

线条 xiàntiáo HSK 7-9 #9,171

line (in art or design); contour / lines of a figure; curves (of a body)

直至 zhízhì HSK 7-9 #8,766

up until / all the way to