How to Write 短 (duǎn) — Meaning “Short (in length or duration).”

Imagine a short arrow (矢) that is too small to hit a bean (豆) on the ground. The arrow falls short, reminding you that 短 means 'short'.

Write the left radical 矢 first, with the last stroke as a right-falling stroke, not a dot. Then write 豆 on the right; keep the top horizontal stroke of 豆 short and centered. A common mistake is making the 豆 part too wide, which makes the character unbalanced.

短 means short in length or duration, while 矬 specifically describes a short person's height. 矫 means 'correct' or 'strong' and uses 乔 (tall) instead of 豆. Visually, 短 has 豆 on the right, 矬 has 坐, and 矫 has 乔.

短 appears in everyday words like 短裤 (shorts) and 短信 (text message). In China, 短信 is a very common way to send short messages, especially for business or personal communication. The character also appears in 简短 (brief), used to describe concise speech or writing.

Common words containing 短 include: 短裤 (duǎn kù) — Shorts.; 短信 (duǎn xìn) — Text message; SMS.; 简短 (jiǎn duǎn) — brief / short.