Chinese word

表

Pronunciation

Pinyinbiǎo

Meaning

  • nounwatch

Example

你的表在哪儿？nǐ de biǎo zài nǎr

Where is your watch?

Illustration for 表 (watch)

More examples

我昨天买了一只表，很喜欢。wǒ zuó tiān mǎi le yì zhī biǎo hěn xǐ huān

I bought a watch yesterday and like it very much.

Core concept

Something that puts information on view: a timepiece on the wrist, a written list, or the outside face of an object.

Common phrases

  • 戴表dài biǎo

    wear a watch

  • 买表mǎi biǎo

    buy a watch

  • 看表kàn biǎo

    look at a watch

Similar words

手表shóu biǎo: A wristwatch worn to show the time.
时钟shí zhōng: A clock kept indoors on a wall or desk to show the time.
钟zhōng: A fairly large clock, such as a wall clock or desk clock, that tells the time.

Definition in Chinese

手腕上佩戴以显示时间的小型时计。shǒu wàn shàng pèi dài yǐ xiǎn shì shí jiān de xiǎo xíng shí jì

Word origin

The modern timepiece sense of 表 (biǎo, "surface; display") is a shortened form of 手表 (shǒubiǎo, "wristwatch"), whose first character means hand.

Usage tips

  • A common measure word is 块 (kuài, "piece"), so 一块表 (yī kuài biǎo, "one watch") is a natural noun phrase.

Other meanings

  • listnoun
  • surfacenoun

Related words

Word lists with this word