毫升

• Pinyin: háo shēng
• Hanzi breakdown: 毫 = variant of 高 (tall) + 毛 (hair) — one thousandth; 升 = a ladle-shaped character, originally a unit of volume measurement

Meaning

Millilitre. A unit of volume equal to one thousandth of a litre, used for measuring liquids.

Commonly found on beverage containers, medicine dosages, and cooking recipes. Abbreviated as ml in Chinese contexts as well. The prefix 毫 (one thousandth) combines with 升 (litre) following the standard metric system. Everyday contexts include drink sizes and medical prescriptions.

Examples

1. 这瓶矿泉水是五百毫升的。 This bottle of mineral water is 500 millilitres.
2. 医生让我每次喝十毫升的药水。 The doctor told me to take ten millilitres of the medicine each time.
3. 请往杯子里加两百毫升的牛奶。 Please add 200 millilitres of milk to the cup.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, medicine, everyday

Tone: technical

Do Say

• 这杯咖啡有三百毫升。(This cup of coffee is 300 millilitres.)
• 每次吃五毫升就够了。(Five millilitres each time is enough.)

Don't Say

• 我喝了很多毫升的水 (Don't use 毫升 vaguely — specify the number; say 我喝了五百毫升的水 or simply 我喝了很多水)

Origin & History

毫 (háo, one thousandth) + 升 (shēng, litre) — one thousandth of a litre, following the Chinese metric prefix pattern.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal