Home › Chinese › Glossary › short
Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "short" in Chinese?
短
duǎn
In Chinese, "short" is 短.
Listen to the pronunciation:
Free Chinese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games
Pronunciation
Pronounced 'dwan' with a rising tone, pitch climbs upward like a question mark.
Writing and usage
A single character with 12 strokes containing a measure or length radical, indicating it relates to size and dimension.
Example sentence
他很短。
He is short.
Test your Chinese knowledge in our free browser games.
How to remember 短
The character shape itself is more compact than the one for 'long', suggesting shortness.
Related words
- dangerous 危险 wēixiǎn
- eighty-nine 八十九 bā shí jiǔ
- fifty 五十 wǔ shí
- forty-four 四十四 sì shí sì
- seventy-one 七十一 qī shí yī
- soft 柔 róu
- thirty 三十 sān shí
- thirty-six 三十六 sān shí liù
- wide 宽 kuān
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 短
How do you say "short" in Chinese?
In Chinese, "short" is 短. It is a noun.
How is 短 written in Chinese?
A single character with 12 strokes containing a measure or length radical, indicating it relates to size and dimension.
How is 短 used in a sentence?
Use 短 as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: 他很短。 (He is short.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Short" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.
Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR
These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.
See the full game ▶Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town