How to Write 秒 (miǎo) — Meaning “second (unit of time)”

Picture a stopwatch showing seconds. The left side 禾 looks like a stalk of wheat, and the right side 少 means 'few' — so think of a few seconds passing as quickly as a grain of time falling. This image links the shape to the meaning of 'second'.

Pay attention to the right part 少: it starts with a vertical hook, then a left-falling stroke, a dot, and a final left-falling stroke. A common mistake is writing 小 (small) instead of 少 — make sure the vertical hook curves slightly to the left at the bottom. Also keep the left radical 禾 narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

秒 has 少 (few) on the right, while 秀 has 乃 (then/thus) and 私 has 厶 (private). Visually, 秒's right side has a clear vertical hook and two left-falling strokes, unlike the curved shapes of the others. Their meanings are completely different: 秒 is only about time, 秀 means 'elegant', and 私 means 'private'.

秒 is the standard word for 'second' as a unit of time, used in clocks, sports timing, and everyday expressions like 几秒 (a few seconds). A common idiom is 分秒必争 (every second counts), which shows the cultural value of punctuality. In internet slang, 秒 can also appear in words like 秒杀 (instant kill or flash sale), indicating something happening very fast.

Common words containing 秒 include: 秒表 (miǎo biǎo) — stopwatch; 几秒 (jǐ miǎo) — a few seconds; how many seconds; 分秒必争 (fēn miǎo bì zhēng) — Every second counts..