寸 (cùn): a unit of length, inch, thumb
寸 (cùn) is a Chinese character meaning “a unit of length.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 寸 (inch). It ranks #1882 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 寸 a hand with a dot indicating where the pulse can be felt, about an inch up the wrist. Its radical form 寸 (inch) appears in many related characters such as 对 (duì, right), 封 (fēng, to confer), 导 (dǎo, to transmit).
Definitions
- a unit of length
- inch
- thumb
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand with a dot indicating where the pulse can be felt, about an inch up the wrist
Stroke Order
Practice writing 寸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 寸
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 英寸 | yīng cùn | inch (unit of length equal to 2.54 cm.) |
| 手无寸铁 | shǒu wú cùn tiě | lit. not an inch of steel (idiom) |
| 得寸进尺 | dé cùn jìn chǐ | lit. win an inch, want a foot (idiom) |
| 寸步不离 | cùn bù bù lí | to follow sb closely (idiom) |
| 分寸 | fēn cun | propriety |
| 寸步难行 | cùn bù nán xíng | unable to move a single step (idiom) |
| 寸草不生 | cùn cǎo bù shēng | lit. not even a blade of grass grows (idiom) |
| 方寸 | fāng cùn | square cun (Chinese unit of area: 1 cun × 1 cun, or 3⅓ cm × 3⅓ cm) |
| 鼠目寸光 | shǔ mù cùn guāng | short-sighted |
| 肝肠寸断 | gān cháng cùn duàn | lit. liver and guts cut to pieces (idiom) |
| 寸头 | cùn tóu | (male hair style) crew cut |
| 寸步不让 | cùn bù bù ràng | (idiom) not to yield an inch |
| 头寸 | tóu cùn | (finance) cash position |
| 寸土寸金 | cùn tǔ cùn jīn | land is extremely expensive (in that area) (idiom) |
| 没分寸 | méi fēn cùn | inappropriate |
寸 appears in 39 compound words: 33 as the first character, 28 as the last, and 38 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 寸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
cannot walk a step; difficult to move forward; difficult to make headway
every inch of land is an inch of gold; land is extremely expensive in an area
cannot walk a step; difficult to move forward; difficult to make headway
every inch of land is an inch of gold; land is extremely expensive in an area
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 寸.
Example Sentences
了解寸字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè cùn zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "寸" (cùn) helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
探访年轻人的“解压新宠”:在方寸之间“拼”出内心的宁静
tàn fǎng nián qīng rén de jiě yā xīn chǒng : zài fāng cùn zhī jiān pīn chū nèi xīn de nìng jìng
Visiting young people's "new favorites": "fighting" inner peace between square inches
...后再演少女啜爆细30年小鲜肉 同剧男星暗寸“工伤”遭炎上
. . . hòu zài yǎn shǎo nǚ 啜 bào xì 3 0 nián xiǎo xiān ròu tóng jù nán xīng àn cùn gōng shāng zāo yán shàng
... Later, the girl sucked the small fresh meat for 30 years, and the male star in the same play was secretly "injured at work" and was burned
...d 4 平板曝 4 月发布:12.3 英寸 165Hz 高刷屏、骁龙 8 系处理器
. . . d 4 píng bǎn pù 4 yuè fā bù : 1 2 . 3 yīng cùn 1 6 5 H z gāo shuā bǐng , 骁 lóng 8 xì chǔ lǐ qì
... d 4 tablet revealed to be released in April: 12.3-inch 165Hz high refresh screen, Snapdragon 8 series processor
谢德谦:北伦敦打吡 寸土必争
xiè dé qiān : běi lún dūn dǎ 吡 cùn tǔ bì zhēng
Xie Deqian: The North London Derby is a battleground
5999元34寸大曲面萤幕 微星Pro MP341CQW...
5 9 9 9 yuán 3 4 cùn dà qū miàn 萤 mù wēi xīng P r o M P 3 4 1 C Q W . . .
5999 yuan 34-inch large curved screen MSI Pro MP341CQW...
你们有提供不同尺寸的咖啡壶吗？
Nǐmen yǒu tígōng bù tóng chǐcun de kāfēihú ma?
Do you offer coffee pots in different sizes?
你有任何比较小的尺寸吗?
Nǐ yǒu rènhé bǐjiào xiǎode chǐcun ma?
Do you have any smaller sizes?
这座雕像和真人的尺寸一样。
Zhè zuò diāoxiàng hé zhēnrén de chǐcun yīyàng.
This statue is as large as life.
您知道您的尺寸吗？
Nín zhīdào nín de chǐcun ma?
Do you know your size?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 寸 (cùn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 寸 have?
What is the radical of 寸?
What are common words containing 寸?
What characters sound the same as 寸 (cùn)?
Is 寸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 寸 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.