整

• Pinyin: zhěng
• Hanzi breakdown: 整 = 束 (bundle) + 攵 (action) + 正 (straight), meaning 'to put in order' or 'whole'

Meaning

Whole; entire; to put in order; to fix. As an adjective, means complete or whole; as a verb, means to arrange or repair.

Has multiple uses: (1) as an adjective meaning whole or entire (整年 = whole year), (2) as a verb meaning to arrange, fix, or tidy up (整一整 = tidy up), (3) colloquially, can mean to handle or deal with something. Often used with round numbers (整点 = on the hour, e.g. 三点整 = exactly three o'clock).

Examples

1. 现在是下午三点整。 It is now exactly three o'clock in the afternoon.
2. 这件事我花了整两个月才完成。 This matter took me a full two months to complete.
3. 他把头发整了一下就出门了。 He fixed his hair a bit and then went out.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, time, description

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 会议在九点整开始。(The meeting starts at exactly nine o'clock.)
• 他把房间整得很干净。(He tidied the room up very clean.)

Don't Say

• 我整了一个苹果。(In standard Mandarin, don't use 整 to mean 'eat' — this is a dialectal/colloquial usage; say 吃了一个苹果 instead)

Origin & History

Composed of 敕 (imperial order) + 正 (straight, correct). The original meaning was to correct or put in order, later extending to mean 'whole' or 'complete.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal