Many people asks me,What does the word 丝毫 mean in Chinese and how do I use it in a sentence?
“丝(sī)” means silk and “毫(háo)” means the hair on animal fur.
As you can see, both of them are tiny. Therefore, this word丝(sī)毫(háo) is used to describe tiny changes.
Interestingly enough, it is usually used in negative sentences to emphasize that something has not even slightly changed.
E.g. 他没有丝毫不悦。（He feels nothing unhappy.)
恶毒的后妈对灰姑娘没有丝毫喜爱。（The evil step mother showed not even the slightest love to Cinderella.)
One of the often-used synonyms of “丝毫” is “一(yì)点(diǎn)（儿(er)）”. Compared to “丝毫”, it can be used in all kinds of situations, including positive sentences.
E.g.我有一点难过。(I’m a little bit sad.)
我有一点兴奋。(I’m a little bit exciting.)
他一点都不生气。(He feels nothing angry.)
However, Chinese people don’t say “我有一点开心 (I’m a little bit happy.)” for most of the time, for the good things don’t come little by little in the wishes of Chinese people. Instead, we say “我好开心” (I’m very happy.)
Of course, there are also some related words for you to refer to, for instance:
- yīsī 一丝
- háomǐ 毫米
- sīsī 丝丝
- fěnsī 粉丝
- háoshēng 毫升
- háokè 毫克