三本

sānběn

noun

Meanings

1 third-tier undergraduate admission batch
2 third-tier college

Characters

undergraduate studies

Examples

HSK 4

他高考分数不高，只考上了三本。

Tā gāokǎo fēnshù bù gāo, zhǐ kǎoshàng le sānběn.

His gaokao score wasn't high, and he only got into a third-tier college.

HSK 5

三本学校的学费通常比一本、二本贵很多。

Sānběn xuéxiào de xuéfèi tōngcháng bǐ yīběn, èrběn guì hěnduō.

Tuition at third-tier colleges is usually much higher than at first- and second-tier universities.

Tips

culture

The third batch of undergraduate admissions after the gaokao, below 一本 and 二本. It was made up mostly of private and independent colleges with higher fees. Since the mid-2010s most provinces have merged it into the second batch, but people still use the word.

mistakes

Not to be confused with 三本书 'three books', where 三 is the number and 本 the measure word.

Stroke Order

三 sān

本 běn