HSK · Level 77
45 words
Chinese word
历时
Pronunciation
Pinyinlì shí
Meaning
- verbtake
Example
这个项目历时半年才完成。zhè ge xiàng mù lì shí bàn nián cái wán chéng
This project took six months to complete.
More examples
这项长期研究历时数十年才取得突破。zhè xiàng cháng qī yán jiū lì shí shù shí nián cái qǔ dé tū pò
This long-term research took decades before it finally achieved a breakthrough.
Core concept
A task or change occupies time from its start to its finished state.
Common phrases
历时数十年lì shí shù shí nián
take decades
历时超过两年lì shí chāo guò liǎng nián
take over two years
历时近一年lì shí jìn yì nián
take nearly a year
Similar words
费时fèi shí: Take a great deal of time to complete a task or carry out a piece of work.
耗时hào shí: Consume time while a process or task moves toward completion.
用时yòng shí: Take a measured amount of time to do something or reach a result.
Definition in Chinese
表示经过一定时间才能完成某事或达到某状态。biǎo shì jīng guò yí dìng shí jiān cái néng wán chéng mǒu shì huò dá dào mǒu zhuàng tài
Word origin
The formation 历 (lì, "pass through") + 时 (shí, "time") links the idea of passing through with the time required for a process to finish.
Usage tips
- The event or process is usually the grammatical subject, so the word describes how long something lasts rather than an action that a person deliberately takes.
Other meanings
- lastverb