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Pinyin | sì (fourth tone) |
| English | 4; four | |
It is pronounced like a shortened form of 'sir' rather than 'see' but with a marked drop of tone | ||
Just adding an extra stoke for four to three would make the numerals a little indistinct so Chinese went for a different representation. It shows a four-sided area with the character for division inside it.
It is used as part of the name for the Province of Sichuan (literally four rivers), the alternative Wade-Giles romanization of Sichuan is 'Szechuan' or 'Szechwan' that you still often see in the West, this gives away the hint that the 'si' sound is more like a 'sze' sound.
| sì | bǎi | gè | rén | |
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| four | hundred | [of] | person | = four hundred peope |