短 (duǎn) means Short (lack). Below are 19 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
冬天的白天很 短 。
Dōngtiān de báitiān hěn duǎn.
The days are short in winter.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 短
我给他发了一条 短 信。
Wǒ gěi tā fā le yì tiáo duǎnxìn.
I sent him a text message.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 短信
你收到我的 短 信了吗？
Nǐ shōudào wǒ de duǎnxìn le ma?
Did you get my text message?
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 短信
地铁缩 短 了上班时间。
Dìtiě suōduǎn le shàngbān shíjiān.
The subway has shortened the commute.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 缩短
会议时间缩 短 了一半。
Huìyì shíjiān suōduǎn le yíbàn.
The meeting time was cut in half.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 缩短
干旱加剧了粮食 短 缺。
Gānhàn jiājù le liángshi duǎnquē.
The drought aggravated the grain shortage.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 加剧
他的致辞简 短 而有力。
Tā de zhìcí jiǎnduǎn ér yǒulì.
His speech was short and forceful.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 致辞
他的呼吸变得 短 促起来。
Tā de hūxī biàn de duǎncù qǐlái.
His breathing became short and rapid.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 短促
他发来了一条问候的 短 信。
Tā fā lái le yì tiáo wènhòu de duǎnxìn.
He sent a message of greeting.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 问候
夏天的夜晚显得格外 短 促。
Xiàtiān de yèwǎn xiǎnde géwài duǎncù.
Summer nights seem particularly fleeting.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 短促
贫困不是 短 期就能消灭的。
Pínkùn bú shì duǎnqī jiù néng xiāomiè de.
Poverty cannot be eliminated in the short term.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 消灭
这个项目 短 期内很难盈利。
Zhège xiàngmù duǎnqī nèi hěn nán yínglì.
This project will find it hard to profit in the short term.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 盈利
典礼上校长做了简 短 的讲话。
Diǎnlǐ shang xiàozhǎng zuò le jiǎnduǎn de jiǎnghuà.
The principal gave a short speech at the ceremony.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 典礼
她把辫子剪 短 了，看起来精神多了。
Tā bǎ biànzi jiǎn duǎn le, kàn qǐlái jīngshen duō le.
She cut her braid short and looks much brighter for it.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 辫子
Reading these is one thing; producing 短 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
周末虽然 短 ，可是我过得很开心。
zhōumò suīrán duǎn, kěshì wǒ guòde hěn kāixīn.
The weekend was short, but I enjoyed it.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Weekend
Words that contain 短
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 短
How is 短 used in a sentence?
This page shows 19 sentences using 短 (duǎn, "Short (lack)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 短 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 短 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 短 an HSK word?
Yes — 短 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 短?
The dictionary page for 短 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 短, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 3 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
Another word
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