Meaning
a unit of length; inch; thumb
Chinese: 长度单位，也表示很短很小。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “cun” becomes a different word in each tone. 寸 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 尺寸chǐ cunsize; dimensions; measurements (esp. of clothes); (coll.) propriety
- 分寸fēn cunpropriety; appropriate behavior; proper speech or action; within the norms
- 方寸fāng cùnsquare cun (Chinese unit of area: 1 cun × 1 cun, or 3⅓ cm × 3⅓ cm); heart; mind
- 公寸gōng cùndecimeter
- 寸头cùn tóu(male hair style) crew cut; butch cut
Example Sentence
时间宝贵，我们要珍惜每一寸光阴。Shí jiān bǎo guì, wǒ men yào zhēn xī měi yí cùn guāng yīn.Time is precious; we should cherish every moment.
时间Shí jiān(concept of) time宝贵bǎo guìvaluable，我们wǒ menwe要yàoto want珍惜zhēn xīto treasure每měieach一yíone寸cùna unit of length光阴guāng yīntime available。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A hand (又) with a short mark at the wrist, pointing to the pulse — about one Chinese inch below the palm. It means ‘inch’ and acts as a ‘hand’ part in 对, 寺, 封.
A way to remember it
A hand with a mark one inch down the wrist.
Easy to confuse with
- 寺‘Temple’: 土 (earth) placed on top of 寸.