zi6 sou3字數字数
Jyutpingzi6 sou3
Yalejih sou
Definition
Word count or character count; the number of characters or words in a text.
neutralschoolwork
How it's used
Refers specifically to the number of characters in a piece of writing, which is the standard way to measure length in Chinese text. Unlike English where word count is based on spaces between words, this term counts every individual character including punctuation marks in many formal contexts.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 詞數, which is rarely used in daily life as Chinese is measured by characters rather than words.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
