Chinese word

缩短

Pronunciation

Pinyinsuō duǎn

Meaning

  • verbshorten

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.

Illustration for 缩短 (shorten)

More examples

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.

Core concept

Moves the endpoint of a period or process closer, leaving a shorter span from start to finish.

Common phrases

  • 缩短时间suō duǎn shí jiān

    shorten time

  • 缩短工期suō duǎn gōng qī

    shorten the construction period

  • 缩短流程suō duǎn liú chéng

    shorten the process

Similar words

减少jián shǎo: Lower the amount or level of something.
缩小suō xiǎo: Reduce the size, area, or range covered by something.
省略shěng lüè: Leave out parts of a text or speech to shorten it.
压缩yā suō: Compress an object, file, or period so that its size, capacity, or length is reduced.

Definition in Chinese

使时间、期限或过程的长度变短。shǐ shí jiān qī xiàn huò guò chéng de cháng dù biàn duǎn

Word origin

缩 (suō, "contract") + 短 (duǎn, "short") combines the ideas of contracting and being short to form the meaning of making a duration or process shorter.

Usage tips

  • 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.

Opposites

Word lists with this word