Meaning of 毫米
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- millimeter
How to use 毫米
毫米 is a measure word used after numbers for small lengths, common in technical specs, rainfall reports, and measurements. Example: 今天下了二十毫米的雨。(Jīntiān xià le èrshí háomǐ de yǔ.) Today there was 20 millimeters of rain.
毫 (háo) means a fine hair or a tiny amount, and 米 (mǐ) is the meter. A unit as thin as a hair compared to a meter is a millimeter.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 毫米 (háomǐ, millimeter) and 厘米 (límǐ, centimeter), which differ by a factor of ten. Also keep háo in the second tone; it is not hǎo like 好.
毫米 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
毫 háo · fine hair · 11 strokes
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- 2
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- 9
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- 11
米 mǐ · uncooked rice · 6 strokes
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- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 毫米.
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | (cooked) rice |
| 玉米 | yùmǐ | corn; maize |
| 厘米 | límǐ | centimeter |
| 毫升 | háoshēng | milliliter |
| 大米 | dàmǐ | (husked) rice |
| 平方米 | píngfāngmǐ | square meter |
| 毫无 | háo wú | not in the least; to completely lack |
| 毫不 | háo bù | hardly; not in the least |
| 丝毫 | sīháo | the slightest amount or degree; a bit |
| 毫不犹豫 | háo bù yóuyù | without the slightest hesitation |
| 立方米 | lìfāngmǐ | cubic meter (m³) |
| 毫无疑问 | háowúyíwèn | certainty; without a doubt |
Questions about 毫米
What does 毫米 mean?
毫米 (háomǐ) means "millimeter" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 毫米?
毫米 is made of 2 characters: 毫 (11 strokes), 米 (6 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 毫米 an HSK word?
Yes. 毫米 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 米 in 毫米 have anything to do with rice?
In 毫米, 米 is the unit meter, chosen because its sound mǐ is close to the start of "meter." The same character also means rice, as in 米饭 (mǐfàn) and 大米 (dàmǐ), so context tells you which meaning is meant.
What other units use 毫 as a prefix?
毫 works like "milli-" in many units, for example 毫升 (háoshēng, milliliter) and 毫克 (háokè, milligram). Once you know the pattern, you can guess these words easily.