English–Chinese
“shorten” in Chinese
Chinese
Pronunciation
Pinyinsuō duǎn
Example
我们把会议时间缩短到一小时。wǒ men bǎ huì yì shí jiān suō duǎn dào yì xiǎo shí
We shorten the meeting time to one hour.
How to say “shorten” in Chinese
“Shorten” in Chinese is 缩短 (suō duǎn).
Moves the endpoint of a period or process closer, leaving a shorter span from start to finish.
Example sentences with 缩短
公司决定缩短试用期。gōng sī jué dìng suō duǎn shì yòng qī
The company decided to shorten the probationary period.
Tips for using 缩短
- English speakers often use "cut" for this idea, but this verb naturally describes making a planned duration shorter, such as reducing a meeting from two hours to one.