Lǎoshī yí jìnmén, chànà jiān jiàoshì lǐ jiù ānjìng le.
The instant the teacher walked in, the classroom went quiet.
Sentence by WillyChina
How 刹那 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
刹chàBuddhist monastery, temple or shrine
杀to kill · shāSound part
刂knife form of 刀 · dāoMeaning part
刂 hints at the meaning (knife); 杀 (shā) hints at the sound. Compare it with chà.
那nàthat; the; those
那 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidThe town 阝 on the right is over there: that.
How to write 刹那
刹 8 strokes · 那 6 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 刹那 (chànà). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
刹那 (chànà) means “instant” or “split second”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it chànà: chà with a 4th tone, then nà with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 刹那 is written 剎那. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chana with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 刹那 from the suggestions. Typing chana into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
刹那 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Turn words into conversations
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
刹chà4th tone, falling
