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短duǎnshort

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

短 (duǎn) means "short" or "brief." It describes length, as in 短头发 (short hair), and time, as in 时间很短 (the time is short). It is the opposite of 长 and is an adjective often used after 很 or 太, or before a noun.

What does 短 mean?

  1. 1.

    shortadjective

  2. 2.

    briefadjective

What does the character 短 mean?

  • 短short

How do you use 短?

短 works for both length and time; its opposite is 长.

Patterns

  • 短 + noun

    他写了一个短故事。

    Tā xiě le yí ge duǎn gùshi.

    He wrote a short story.

What are some examples of 短 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 3

    她的头发很短。

    Tā de tóufa hěn duǎn.

    Her hair is very short.

  2. HSK 2

    这条裤子太短了。

    Zhè tiáo kùzi tài duǎn le.

    These pants are too short.

  3. HSK 3

    我们的假期很短。

    Wǒmen de jiàqī hěn duǎn.

    Our vacation is very short.

How is 短 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    我想去剪头发。

    Wǒ xiǎng qù jiǎn tóufa.

    I want to get a haircut.

  2. Speaker B:

    你的头发已经很短了。

    Nǐ de tóufa yǐjīng hěn duǎn le.

    Your hair is already very short.

  3. Speaker A:

    夏天来了，我想再短一点。

    Xiàtiān lái le, wǒ xiǎng zài duǎn yìdiǎn.

    Summer is here; I want it a bit shorter.

  4. Speaker B:

    好吧，楼下就有一家理发店。

    Hǎo ba, lóu xià jiù yǒu yì jiā lǐfàdiàn.

    All right, there's a barbershop right downstairs.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.