段 (duàn): paragraph, section, segment
段 (duàn) is a Chinese character meaning “paragraph.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 殳 (structural). It ranks #567 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 段 a hand using a chisel 殳 to cut stone. Its radical form 殳 (weapon) appears in many related characters such as 毁 (huǐ, to destroy), 殴 (ōu, to beat up), 殷 (yīn, dynasty name at the end the Shang dynasty, after its move to Yinxu 殷墟 in present-day Henan).
Definitions
- paragraph
- section
- segment
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand using a chisel 殳 to cut stone
Stroke Order
Practice writing 段 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 段
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 片段 | piàn duàn | fragment (of speech etc) |
| 不择手段 | bù zé shǒu duàn | by fair means or foul |
| 时段 | shí duàn | time interval |
| 赛段 | sài duàn | stage of a competition |
| 告一段落 | gào yī duàn luò | to come to the end of a phase (idiom) |
| 桥段 | qiáo duàn | (cinema, literature etc) scene |
| 段子 | duàn zi | item of storytelling or performed dialogue (folk arts) |
| 地段 | dì duàn | section |
| 前段 | qián duàn | front part (of an object) |
| 身段 | shēn duàn | a woman's physique |
| 年龄段 | nián líng duàn | age group |
| 路段 | lù duàn | stretch of road |
| 波段 | bō duàn | wave band |
| 段落 | duàn luò | phase |
| 现阶段 | xiàn jiē duàn | at the present stage |
段 appears in 57 compound words: 18 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 12 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 段 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to take any measures to do something; to stop at nothing; by hook or by crook; unscrupulously
to get off one's high horse; to dispense with posturing (and adopt a more humble or empathetic attitude)
Example Sentences
学习段字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí duàn zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the segmented characters requires repeated practice to achieve neat handwriting.
洗衣服最忌三个时间段?避开这些时段洗得更干净
xǐ yī fú zuì jì sān gè shí jiān duàn ? bì kāi zhè xiē shí duàn xǐ dé gēng gān jìng
The three most taboo time periods for washing clothes? Avoid these times to wash more cleanly
国3龙井段惊魂!驾驶分心追撞缓撞车 车流回堵2公里
guó 3 lóng jǐng duàn jīng hún ! jià shǐ fēn xīn zhuī zhuàng huǎn zhuàng chē chē liú huí dǔ 2 gōng lǐ
National 3 Longjing section is horror! The driver was distracted and slowed down the collision, and the traffic flow was blocked for 2 kilometers
快讯/国3龙井段惊险车祸!宾士男猛撞缓撞车 “车头全烂”...
kuài xùn guó 3 lóng jǐng duàn jīng xiǎn chē huò ! bīn shì nán měng zhuàng huǎn zhuàng chē chē tóu quán làn . . .
News/National 3 Longjing section thrilling car accident! The Mercedes-Benz man slammed into the car and crashed "the front of the car is rotten"...
春节连假最后一天 国道事故34件、局部路段回堵
chūn jié lián jiǎ zuì hòu yī tiān guó dào shì gù 3 4 jiàn , jú bù lù duàn huí dǔ
On the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, there were 34 accidents on national highways, and some road sections were blocked
云南虎跳峡—一家三口行未开发地段 8岁童失足堕崖身亡
yún nán hǔ tiào xiá — yī jiā sān kǒu háng wèi kāi fā dì duàn 8 suì tóng shī zú duò yá shēn wáng
Yunnan Tiger Leaping Gorge - A family of three walked on an undeveloped lot An 8-year-old child fell off a cliff and died
所以, 有段时间你也是个巫师吗?
Suǒyǐ, yǒu duàn shíjiān nǐ yě shì gè wūshī ma?
So, was there a time when you were a wizard, too?
我每天工作不同时段。
Wǒ měi tiān gōngzuò bùtóng shíduàn.
Every day I work different hours.
是你该放弃你幼稚手段的时候了。
Shì nǐ gāi fàngqì nǐ yòuzhì shǒuduàn de shíhou le.
It is time you left off your childish ways.
他把他的那段话从磁带里删除了。
Tā bǎ tā de nèi duàn huà cóng cídài lǐ shānchú le.
He erased his speech from the tape.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 段 (duàn)?
Is 段 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 段 with real-time feedback
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