Chinese word

长

Pronunciation

Pinyincháng

Meaning

  • adjectivelong

Example

他给我写了一封很长的信。tā gěi wǒ xiě le yì fēng hěn cháng de xìn

He wrote me a very long letter.

Illustration for 长 (long)

More examples

他的头发越来越长。tā de tóu fa yuè lái yuè cháng

His hair is growing longer and longer.

Core concept

Something that reaches far from one end to the other, continues for a long time, or grows onward.

Common phrases

  • 越来越长yuè lái yuè cháng

    increasingly long

  • 长的信cháng de xìn

    long letter

Similar words

短duǎn: Extending only a short way from one end to the other.
远yuǎn: Located far away from another thing or place.
近jìn: Located close to another thing or place.

Definition in Chinese

表示物体或空间从一端到另一端的距离较大，也可用来形容时间或过程持续较长、范围延伸较远的状态。biǎo shì wù tǐ huò kōng jiān cóng yì duān dào lìng yì duān de jù lí jiào dà yě kě yòng lái xíng róng shí jiān huò guò chéng chí xù jiào cháng fàn wéi yán shēn jiào yuǎn de zhuàng tài

Word origin

The character 长 (zhǎng, "to grow") has an old written form linked to long hair, connecting the ideas of growing and being long.

Usage tips

  • The two pronunciations are worth learning as a pair: cháng describes length or duration, whereas zhǎng describes growth, as in a child becoming taller.

Other meanings

  • growverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word