短期 duǎn qī short term / short-term 守口如瓶 shǒu kǒu rú píng lit. to guard one's mouth like a closed bottle (idiom) / tight-lipped / reticent / not breathing a word syn 呼呼 hū hū (onom.) sound of the wind or the breathing of sb who is sound asleep syn 呼吸器 hū xī qì ventilator (artificial breathing apparatus used in hospitals) 断气 斷氣 duàn qì to stop breathing / to breathe one's last / to die / to cut the gas supply syn 短袖 duǎn xiù short sleeves / short-sleeved shirt 空头 空頭 kōng tóu phony / so-called / armchair (expert) / vain (promise) / (finance) short-seller / bear (market) / short (selling) syn 气功 氣功 qì gōng qigong, a traditional Chinese system of cultivating vital energy 氣|气[qi4] through coordinated breathing, movement and meditation 短衣 duǎn yī short garment / short jacket 短时间 短時間 duǎn shí jiān short term / short time 导引 導引 dǎo yǐn same as 引導|引导[yin3 dao3] / Dao Yin, Daoist exercises involving breathing, stretching and self-massage 娇喘 嬌喘 jiāo chuǎn faint breathing 阵 陣 zhèn disposition of troops / wave / spate / burst / spell / short period of time / classifier for events or states of short duration syn 哧 chī (onom.) giggling / breathing / tearing of paper, ripping of fabric etc syn 将 將 jiāng will / shall / to use / to take / to checkmate / just a short while ago / (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) syn 令 lìng to order / to command / an order / warrant / writ / to cause / to make sth happen / virtuous / honorific title / season / government position (old) / type of short song or poem syn 之间 之間 zhī jiān (after a noun) between / among / amid / (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressions indicating a short period of time, e.g. 彈指之間|弹指之间[tan2zhi3 zhi1 jian1]) syn 紧张 緊張 jǐn zhāng nervous / keyed up / intense / tense / strained / in short supply / scarce / CL:陣|阵[zhen4] syn 一旦 yī dàn in case (sth happens) / if / once (sth happens, then...) / when / in a short time / in one day syn 总之 總之 zǒng zhī in a word / in short / in brief syn 传奇 傳奇 chuán qí legendary / fantasy saga / romance / short stories of the Tang and Song Dynasty 缺乏 quē fá to lack / to be short of syn 一时 一時 yī shí a period of time / a while / for a short while / temporary / momentary / at the same time syn 一阵子 一陣子 yī zhèn zi a while / a spell / a short time / a burst syn 条子 條子 tiáo zi short note / slip of paper / stripe / (slang) cop / (old) prostitute syn 一下子 yī xià zi in a short while / all at once / all of a sudden syn 缺少 quē shǎo lack / shortage of / shortfall / to be short (of) / to lack syn 短暂 短暫 duǎn zàn of short duration / brief / momentary syn 短裤 短褲 duǎn kù short pants / shorts 笔记 筆記 bǐ jì to take down (in writing) / notes / a type of literature consisting mainly of short sketches / CL:本[ben3] syn 中断 中斷 zhōng duàn to cut short / to break off / to discontinue / to interrupt syn 片刻 piàn kè short period of time / a moment syn 小品 xiǎo pǐn short, simple literary or artistic creation / essay / skit syn 长话短说 長話短說 cháng huà duǎn shuō to make a long story short (idiom) 矮子 ǎi zi short person / dwarf syn 词语 詞語 cí yǔ word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases) / term (e.g. technical term) / expression syn 不便 bù biàn inconvenient / inappropriate / unsuitable / short of cash syn 简称 簡稱 jiǎn chēng to be abbreviated to / abbreviation / short form 短片 duǎn piàn short film / video clip 短路 duǎn lù short circuit syn 出行 chū xíng to go out somewhere (relatively short trip) / to set off on a journey (longer trip) syn 总而言之 總而言之 zǒng ér yán zhī in short / in a word / in brief syn 亚伯 亞伯 yà bó Abe (short form for Abraham) / Abel, a figure of Jewish, Christian and Muslim mythologies 致辞 致辭 zhì cí to express in words or writing / to make a speech (esp. short introduction, vote of thanks, afterword, funeral homily etc) / to address (an audience) / same as 致詞|致词 syn 矮小 ǎi xiǎo short and small / low and small / undersized syn 热腾腾 熱騰騰 rè téng téng steaming hot / (fig.) bustling / hectic / (fig.) excited / stirred up / (fig.) created only a short time before / freshly minted / hot off the press / (coll.) also pr. [re4 teng1 teng1] syn 一瞬 yī shùn one instant / very short time / the twinkle of an eye syn 通融 tōng róng flexible / to accommodate / to stretch or get around regulations / a short-term loan syn 毁于一旦 毀於一旦 huǐ yú yī dàn (idiom) ruined in a short time (esp. of sth that took a long time or great effort to achieve) syn 春梦 春夢 chūn mèng spring dream / short-lived illusion / erotic dream syn 预选 預選 yù xuǎn preselection / short-listing / primary election 争气 爭氣 zhēng qì to work hard for sth / to resolve on improvement / determined not to fall short syn 不及 bù jí to fall short of / not as good as / too late syn 矮胖 ǎi pàng short and stout / dumpy / roly-poly syn 短篇小说 短篇小說 duǎn piān xiǎo shuō short story 匮乏 匱乏 kuì fá to be deficient in sth / to be short of sth (supplies, money etc) syn 一把手 yī bǎ shǒu working hand / member of a work team / participant / the boss (short form of 第一把手[di4 yi1 ba3 shou3]) syn 阿比 ā bǐ Abby or Abi (name, sometimes short for Abigail) 短程 duǎn chéng short range 露水 lù shuǐ dew / fig. short-lasting / ephemeral syn 速成 sù chéng crash (course) / accelerated (process) / quick (fix) / instant (success) / to achieve in a short time syn 短促 duǎn cù short in time / fleeting / brief / gasping (breath) / curt (tone of voice) syn 短距离 短距離 duǎn jù lí short distance / a stone's throw away syn 紧缺 緊缺 jǐn quē in short supply / scarce syn 结业 結業 jié yè to finish school, esp. a short course / to complete a course / (of a company) to cease operations syn 丁丁 dīng dīng (neologism) (slang) penis (丁丁 resembles "JJ", which is short for 雞雞|鸡鸡[ji1ji1]) syn 昙花一现 曇花一現 tán huā yī xiàn lit. the night-blooming cactus shows once / flash in the pan (idiom) / short-lived syn 吃紧 吃緊 chī jǐn in short supply / dire / tense / critical / hard-pressed / important syn 落款 luò kuǎn inscription with name, date, or short sentence, on a painting, gift, letter etc / to write such an inscription 短兵相接 duǎn bīng xiāng jiē lit. short-weaponed soldiery fight one another (idiom) / fierce hand-to-hand infantry combat / to fight at close quarters syn 放空 fàng kōng to relax completely / to empty one's mind / (finance) to sell short / (of a commercial vehicle) to travel empty (no cargo or passengers) / to deadhead 契诃夫 契訶夫 qì hē fū Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian writer famous for his short stories and plays 鼠目寸光 shǔ mù cùn guāng short-sighted syn 花枪 花槍 huā qiāng short spear (arch.) / fig. trickery syn 平米 píng mǐ square meter / short for 平方米 奇缺 qí quē very short of (food, clean water etc) / extreme shortage / deficit 低矮 dī ǎi short / low 一朝一夕 yī zhāo yī xī lit. one morning and one evening (idiom) / fig. in a short period of time / overnight syn 取巧 qǔ qiǎo quick fix / opportune short cut (around a difficulty) / cheap trick (to get what one wants) / to pull a fast one 长吁短叹 長吁短嘆 cháng xū duǎn tàn long moan and short gasp (idiom) / continually moaning and groaning in pain syn 小结 小結 xiǎo jié summary / short / brief / wrap-up syn 一句话 一句話 yī jù huà in a word / in short 短线 短線 duǎn xiàn short term 不符合 bù fú hé discrepant / falling short (of expectations) / not matching up / not conforming / (figures) disagree / unbecoming 暂缺 暫缺 zàn quē currently in short supply / in deficit (of commodity) / currently vacant (position) 黑板报 黑板報 hēi bǎn bào blackboard bulletin with short news items written on it (can usually be found in factories, schools etc) 拆借 chāi jiè to make (or take out) a short-term loan syn 姐妹俩 姐妹倆 jiě mèi liǎ The Sisters (short story) 绝命 絕命 jué mìng to commit suicide / to have one's life cut short 高矮 gāo ǎi height (i.e. whether short or tall) syn 腰斩 腰斬 yāo zhǎn to chop sb in half at the waist (capital punishment) / to cut sth in half / to reduce sth by a dramatic margin / to terminate / to cut short 小游 小遊 xiǎo yóu outing / short trip 一时半刻 一時半刻 yī shí bàn kè a short time / a little while syn 短板 duǎn bǎn short stave of the barrel (which allows the contents to escape) / (fig.) shortcoming / weak point 少顷 少頃 shǎo qǐng in a short while / presently syn 一言以蔽之 yī yán yǐ bì zhī one word says it all (idiom, from Analects) / to cut a long story short / in a nutshell syn 抛空 拋空 pāo kōng to short-sell (finance) 短少 duǎn shǎo to be short of the full amount syn 卖空 賣空 mài kōng to sell short (finance) 