久 jiǔ — long (of time)

Meanings

1. 1

   long (of time)

   Long in time only. A long road, a long book or a long river is 长; only a wait, a silence or an absence is 久. 好久不见 — long time no see — is the phrase you will hear it in first.

   adjective

Example sentences

• 你等了很久吗？/你等了很久嗎？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) děngle (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) jiǔ (third tone, dipping) ma? (neutral tone)···

  Have you been waiting long?

• 我们很久没见面了。/我們很久沒見面了。Wǒmen (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) jiǔ (third tone, dipping) méi (second tone, rising) jiànmiàn (fourth tone, falling) le. (neutral tone)···

  We haven’t seen each other for a long time.

Common mistakes

• Not quite这条路很久。

  Correct这条路很长。

  久 measures duration, 长 measures extent. A road has length, so it is 长; the walk along it can be 久.

Similar words