| Terms of Time Measurement | ||||
| 時間測量/时间测量 (shíjiān cèliáng) | ||||
| Unit Type | Pinyin | English | Traditional Quantity | Modern Equivalents |
| 秒 | miǎo | second | 60 秒 = 1 分鐘/分钟 | |
| 分* (or) 分鐘/分钟 | fēn* (or) fēn zhōng |
minute | 60 分鐘/分钟 = 1 個小時/个小时 |
|
| 刻 | kè | quarter hour | 8 刻 = 1 traditional Chinese hour (時辰) | 4 刻 = 1 modern hour |
| 小時/小时 | xiǎo shí | hour | 24 小時/小时 = 1 天 (or) 1 日 | |
| 鐘頭/钟头 | zhōng tóu | hour (coll.) | ||
| 鐘點/钟点 | zhōng diǎn | time -hours -specified time | ||
| 點 | diǎn | hour (of the clock); o’ clock | ||
| 時辰 | shí chén | Trad. Chinese hour | 2 hours; there are 12 divisions in a traditional Chinese day | |
| 天 | tiān | day | 7 天 = 1 禮拜/礼拜 (or) 1 星期 | |
| 日 | rì | day (of the week) | ||
| 禮拜/礼拜 | lǐ bài | week; also used for day of the week | ||
| 星期 | xīng qī (PRC)/xīng qí (TW) | week; also used for day of the week | ||
| 週/周 | zhōu | day of week | ||
| 月 | yuè | month | ||
| 年 | nián | year | 12 月 (or 13 when there is an intercalery month) | |
| *Note that 分 (fēn) has many different meanings: gram, centimeter, minute, tenth, tenth of an acre, etc. | ||||
| Other Time-Related Terms | ||||
| 其他時間的話/其他时间的话 (qítā shíjiān de huà) | ||||
| Unit Type | Pinyin | English | ||
| Past | ||||
| 從前/从前 | cóng qián | in the past; before; formerly | ||
| 徂歲/徂岁 客歲/客岁 去年 |
cú suì kè suì qù nián |
last year | ||
| 前年 | qián nián | the year before last | ||
| 前日 前天 |
qián rì qián tiān |
the day before yesterday | ||
| 前夕 | qián xī (PRC)/qián xì (TW) | the night before last | ||
| 前夜 | qián yè | the night before last | ||
| 上個月/上个月 | shàng ge yuè | last month | ||
| 上上個礼拜/上上个礼拜 or 上上個星期/上上个星期 |
shàng shàng ge lǐ bài or shàng shàng ge xīng qī (PRC) (shàng shàng ge xīng qí (TW) |
the week before last; two weeks ago | ||
| 上上個月/上上个月 | shàng shàng ge yuè | the month before last; two months ago | ||
| 昔者 | xí zhě | in ancient times; in former times -before; formerly | 以往 or 已往 | yǐ wǎng | formerly; before; in the past |
| 早先 | zǎo xiān | before; some time ago | ||
| 昨日 昨天 |
zuó rì zuó tiān |
yesterday | ||
| Present | ||||
| 本年 今年 |
běn nián jīn nián |
this year | ||
| 本日 當世/当世 今天 |
běn rì dāng shì jīn tiān |
today | ||
| 本月 這個月/这个月 |
běn yuè zhè ge yuè |
this month | ||
| 本週 | běn zhōu | this week | ||
| 即今 | jí jīn | right now; at this very moment | ||
| 即刻 | jí kè | immediately; now; at this moment; at once; instantly | ||
| 即時/即时 | jí shí | immediately; now; at once | ||
| 今時/今时 | jīn shí | present times; now; this era | ||
| 馬上/马上 | mǎ shàng | immediately; now; at once | ||
| 目前 | mù qián | now; at present; at the moment; currently | ||
| 目下 | mù xià | now; at present | ||
| 迄今 | qì jīn | so far; up until now; till now; to date | ||
| 如今 | rú jīn | now; nowadays | ||
| 現今/现今 | xiàn jīn | now (wr.); at present; nowadays | ||
| 現在/现在 | xiàn zài | now | ||
| 眼下 | yǎn xià | now; at present; at the moment; currently | ||
| 於今/于今 | yú jīn | now; at; to the present; nowadays | ||
| 至今 | zhì jīn | up to now; until now; so far | ||
| Future | ||||
| 此後/此后 | cǐ hòu | henceforth; thereafter; hereafter; after this | ||
| 次年 第二年 來年/来年 明年 |
cì nián dì èr niān lái nián míng nián |
next year | ||
| 到底 | dào dǐ | in the long run; after all; in the end | ||
| 到頭來/到头来 | dào tóu lái | in the long run; after all; in the end | ||
| 而後/而后 | ér hòu | and then; afterwards; later; thenceforward; thenceforth; thereafter | ||
| 過兩天/过两天 | guò liǎng tian | the future; in the near future; in a few days | ||
| 後此/后此 | hòu cǐ | after this | ||
| 後來/后来 | hòu lái | in the future; later; afterwards; then | ||
| 後年/后年 | hòu nián | the year after next | ||
| 後日/后日 後天/后天 |
hòu rì hòu tiān |
the day after tomorrow | ||
| 後首/后首 | hòu shǒu | later -afterwards | ||
| 後頭/后头 | hòu tóu | in the future -behind; rear | ||
| 後尾/后尾 | hòu wěi | the end (n.) -in the end; at the end (adv.) | ||
| 後效/后效 | hòu xiào | future performance; after-effect | ||
| 明日 明天 旦日 |
míng rì míng tiān dàn rì |
tomorrow | ||
| 然後/然后 | rán hòu | afterwards; after that -and then | ||
| 日後/日后 | rì hòu | in days to come | ||
| 下個月/下个月 | xià gè yuè | next month | ||
| Timespan | ||||
| 半月 | bàn yuè | half-moon -fortnight (as, two-week period) | ||
| 晡 | bū | afternoon (n.) -after noon (adj.) | ||
| 晡時 | bū shí | late afternoon (after 4pm) | ||
| 不久 | bù jiǔ | soon; before long; not long; soon after | ||
| 產後/产后 | chǎn hòu | afterbirth (n.) -postnatal; after birth (adj.) | ||
| 成年累月 | chéng nián lěi yuè | year after year and month after month | ||
| 初一 | chū yī | New Year’s Day | ||
| 除日 | chú rì | day before New Year’s Eve | ||
| 除夕 | chú xī (PRC)/chú xì (TW) | New Year’s Eve | ||
| 公元前 紀元前/纪元前 西元前 |
gōng yuán qián jì yuán qián xī yuán qián |
Before Christ; BC -aka before the common era (bce.); Western-style date | ||
| 後半晌/后半晌 | hòu bàn shǎng | late afternoon or early evening | ||
| 後半天/后半天 | hòu bàn tiān | the latter half of the day | ||
| 後半夜/后半夜 | hòu bàn yè | after midnight; the wee hours of the morning | ||
| 後期/后期 | hòu qī (PRC)/hòu qí (TW) | the latter part of an era -some future date -a later period (n.) -be behind schedule -take place after the scheduled time (v.) | ||
| 紀元後/纪元后 | jì yuán hòu | A.D.; AD (L.: anno Domini) after Christ; common era (ce.) | ||
| 假日 | jià rì | holiday; vacation; days off; leave; break | ||
| 節日/节日 | jié rì | holiday; festival | ||
| 厥後/厥后 | jué hòu | afterwards; after this | ||
| 連日/连日 | lián rì | day after day; for consecutive days; for days in a row | ||
| 連夜/连夜 | lián yè | all through the night -the same night; that very night | ||
| 末後/末后 | mò hòu | the end; the final part; at the end | ||
| 目前年前 | mù qián nián qián | years before present (YBP) | ||
| 年前 | nián qián | before the end of the year | ||
| 平日 | píng rì | weekday; workday; ordinary day | ||
| 前後/前后 | qián hòu | (as a time reference) before and after; about; around; approximately; from start to finish; beginning to end; altogether -(lit.: front and rear) | ||
| 閏年/闰年 | rùn nián | leap year | ||
| 閏月/闰月 | rùn yuè | intercalery month; used in the Lunar calendar | ||
| 稍後/稍后 | shāo hòu | shortly afterward; soon afterward | ||
| 稍候 | shāo hòu | wait a moment | ||
| 事後/事后 | shì hòu | hindsight; after the fact; ex post facto -afterwards | ||
| 嗣後/嗣后 | sì hòu | from that time on; afterward; after then | ||
| 萬代/万代 | wàn dài | endless generations afterward; an eternity | ||
| 午前 | wǔ qián | before noon -the forenoon | ||
| 小年夜 | xiǎo nián yè | the night before lunar New Year’s Eve | ||
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| (!) | Simplified character is completely different from the Traditional character |
| A.C. | ancient Chinese |
| ab. | abbreviation |
| acctg. | accounting |
| adj. | adjective or adjectival phrase (in Chinese an adj. is often simply a v. or n. to which de5 [的] is added: the 的 is usually omitted in this dictionary) |
| adv. | adverb or adverbial phrase |
| aka | also known as |
| alt. pron. | alternate or non-standard pronunciation |
| Am. | American; American usage |
| anat. | anatomy |
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| anc. | ancient, usu. indicating pre-Qín dynasty China |
| arch. | archaic character, use or meaning |
| Arch. | Architecture; referring to Architecture or having to do with Architecture |
| ast. | astronomy |
| aux. | auxiliary verb |
| b. | born |
| bce. | Before the Common Era (=BC: Before Christ) |
| Bei.pron. | Beijing-style pronunciation |
| bf. | bound form |
| bib. | biblical |
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| bot. | botany |
| Br. | British; British usage |
| Cant. | Cantonese |
| CCP | Chinese Communist Party |
| CE | Church of England |
| ce. | Common Era (=AD: Anno Domini) |
| cf. | compare; compare with |
| Ch.id. | Chinese idiom |
| char. | Chinese character |
| Chin. | China; Chinese |
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| Chr. | Christianity (including both Protestantism and Catholicism) |
| coll. | colloquial expression or usage |
| conj. | conjunction |
| contemp. | contempuous |
| court. | courteous |
| d. | died |
| derog. | used as a derogatory term |
| dial. | dialect |
| dipl. | diplomacy; diplomatic |
| dist. | distinguished from; as distinguished from |
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| econ. | economics |
| Eng.id. | English idiom |
| Eng.ph. | English phrase |
| env. | environment; environmental |
| ex. | exclamation |
| expr. | expression |
| fam. | familiar usage |
| fig. | figurative usage |
| fmr. | former or formerly |
| fr. | from |
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| Fr. | France; French |
| fv. | functive verb |
| geol. | geology |
| geom. | geometry |
| gr. | grammar |
| gr.str. | grammatical structure or construction |
| gya | billion years ago |
| hist. | history; historical |
| id. | idiom |
| imp. | impolite |
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| interch. | interchangeable with |
| intj. | interjection |
| Isl. | Islam |
| Jp. | Japan; Japanese; Japanese variant (of a character) |
| KXR | Kangxi Radical |
| L. | Latin, from Latin or having a Latin root |
| L.ph. | translation of Latin phrase (as used in English) |
| leg. | legal terminology |
| lg. | language |
| lit. | literal (ie. word-for-word) translation |
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| M. | measure word (used as a numerary adjunct for nouns) |
| mach. | machines; machinery |
| math. | mathematics |
| ME | Middle East; Middle Eastern |
| mech. | mechanics |
| med. | medicine; medical terminology; as used in the practice of, etc. |
| met. | metaphorical usage |
| mil. | military terminology |
| mod. | modern usage |
| mus. | music or musical notation |
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| mya | million years ago |
| n. | noun |
| na. | name or title |
| naut. | nautical, marine or maritime |
| NGOs | Non-Governmental Organizations |
| nph. | noun phrase; compound noun |
| nu. | number |
| obs. | obsolete |
| oft. | often |
| on. | onomatopoeia (as, a sound's written representation of how it sounds) |
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| opp. | opposite or as opposed to |
| part. | particle |
| pat. | pattern |
| ph. | phrase |
| phil. | philosophy |
| phy. | physics |
| pl. | plural |
| pn. | place name, geographic location or geographic feature |
| pol. | polite form of address |
| pol.sl. | political slogan |
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| pop. | popular speech; popularly used; common speech |
| pop.wr. | popularly written |
| pp. | past participle |
| pr. | pronoun |
| PRC | People's Republic of China; as used in the PRC |
| pre. | prefix |
| pref. | preferred |
| prep. | preposition |
| pron. | pronounced; pronunciation |
| pw. | place word |
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| qs. | question sentence |
| qw. | question word |
| r. | reigned |
| rad. | radical- used as a part of Chinese characters |
| RC | Roman Catholic |
| regl.var. | regional variant |
| rve. | resultative verb ending |
| sa. | saying |
| sb. | somebody |
| se. | sentence |
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| sf. | sentence fragment |
| sh. | short form or shortened form |
| sl. | slang |
| so. | someone |
| so.s | someone's |
| soc. | sociology |
| sp. | specialized language used in technical situations or by specialists (eg.: medical, legal, etc.) |
| Sp. | Spanish |
| sp.pron. | special or unusual pronunciation |
| sport. | as used in sports; sports terminology |
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| ss. | sample sentence |
| st. | sometimes |
| st.pron. | sometimes pronounced |
| st.wr. | sometimes written |
| stat. | statistics |
| sth. | something |
| suf. | suffix |
| sv. | stative verb (an adj. which includes 'be' as in 'be (x)', often simply labeled as 'adj.') |
| sw. | somewhat |
| Switz. | Switzerland |
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| T.S. | Tone Sandhi |
| tax. | taxonomy (as, scientific naming system); taxonomic name |
| TCM | Traditional Chinese Medicine; Chinese herbal medicine |
| tm. | trademark |
| topo. | topolect (some part of the word has been phonically transliterated from English into Chinese) (aka loanword) |
| tr.na. | trade name, business name or product name |
| trans. | translation |
| tslt. | transliteration |
| TW | Taiwan; as used in Taiwan |
| u.f. | used for |
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| undef. | undefined |
| usu. | usually |
| v. | verb |
| var. | various; variety; variant |
| vern. | vernacular |
| vo. | separable verb-object combination |
| vph. | verb phrase; compound verb |
| vul. | vulgar |
| wr. | written or literary use |
| A01 | Agriculture: Soil, Crops and Tools |
| A02 | Livestock and Animal Husbandry |
| A03 | Nomadism and Pastoralism |
| A04 | Sericulture and Silk |
| A05 | Trees and Forestry |
| A06 | Wood Products, Carpentry and Woodworking |
| A07 | Other Misc. Wooden Articles and Furniture |
| A08 | Plants and Botany |
| A09 | Flowers |
| A10 | Fruits and Melons |
| A11 | Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Oils and Tubers |
| A12 | Molds, Mushrooms and Other Fungi |
| A13 | Smells, Aromas and Fragrances |
| A14 | Fibers, Textiles and Dyeing |
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| B01 | Rarity, Precision, Value and Excellence |
| B02 | Beauty, Aesthetics, Art and the Fine Arts |
| B03 | Colors |
| B04 | Pattern, Design, Appearance and Decoration |
| B05 | Architecture, Structures and Construction |
| B06 | Handicrafts |
| B07 | Porcelain and Pottery |
| B08 | Clarity, Darkness and Gloom |
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| C01 | Books, Poetry, Literature and Publishing |
| C02 | Myths, Legends, Stories and Reading |
| C03 | Documents, Correspondence, Paper and Printing |
| C04 | Journalism, News, Newspapers and Media |
| C05 | Acting, Theater, Video and Cinematography |
| C06 | Voice, Sound, Music and Dance |
| C07 | The Eye, Vision and Photography |
| C08 | Radio, Television, and Broadcasting |
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| D01 | Science and Scientific Ideas |
| D02 | Biology, Microbiology, Taxonomy and Genetics |
| D03 | Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology and Bioelectronics |
| D04 | Land Animals |
| D05 | Insects and Spiders |
| D06 | Rivers, the Littoral, the Ocean, Fish, Amphibians, Aquatic Animals and Oceanography |
| D07 | Birds and Flying Mammals |
| D08 | The Environment, Conservation, Ecology, Pollution and Garbage |
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| E01 | Chemistry |
| E02 | Communication and Humor |
| E03 | Technology, Computers, Electronics and the Internet |
| E04 | Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry |
| E05 | Batteries, Electricity and Light |
| E06 | Geology and the Earth Sciences |
| E07 | Petroleum, Minerals, Mining and Metallurgy |
| E08 | Jade, Gemstones and Jewelry |
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| F01 | Individual Character Definitions |
| F02 | Chinese Culture, Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture |
| F03 | Chinese Dynasties and the Dynastic Period |
| F04 | Ancient Chinese Warfare and Weapons |
| F05 | Chinese Language: Measure Words, Negatives and RVEs |
| F06 | Nature and Natural Resources |
| F07 | Names, Proper Names and Trade Names |
| F08 | Chinese Books, Writing and Characters |
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| G01 | Diplomacy and International Relations |
| G02 | Nationality, Ethnicity, Nations and Peoples |
| G03 | Bureaucracy, Government and NGOs |
| G04 | Geography and Maps |
| G05 | Places and Place Names |
| G06 | Topography and Geographic Features |
| G07 | Politics |
| G08 | Cities |
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| H01 | Economics and Markets |
| H02 | Business, Enterprise, Commerce and Ownership |
| H03 | Accounting |
| H04 | Sales, Marketing and Service |
| H05 | Negotiation, Labor and Management |
| H06 | Money and Banking, Finance, Insurance and Investing |
| H07 | Products, Companies, Manufacturing and Manufactured Goods |
| H08 | Skill, Standards and Quality |
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| I01 | Education |
| I02 | Mathematics, Statistics, Quantities, Series, Progression and Size |
| I03 | Prehistory, Protohistory and World History |
| I04 | Chinese History and Historical Mythology |
| I05 | Japan and Japanese History |
| I06 | Sanitation and Hygiene |
| I07 | Materials |
| I08 | Actions |
| I09 | Shapes, Forms and Models |
| I10 | Textures, Rough and Smooth Surfaces, and Flexibility |
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| J01 | The Kitchen, Cooking Techniques, Utensils and Nutrition |
| J02 | Foods and Ingredients, Tea and Other Beverages, Spices, Sauces and Seasonings |
| J03 | Alcohol, Wines and Spirits |
| J04 | Restaurants and Entertaining, Menu Items, Chinese (and Other) Food and Recipe Names |
| J05 | Absorb, Initiate, Assimilate and Include |
| J06 | Easy, Difficult, Similarities and Differences |
| J07 | New, Old, More, Less |
| J08 | Instructions, Directions, Opportunity, Problems and Mistakes |
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| K01 | Language |
| K02 | Grammar and Grammatical Constructions |
| K03 | Phonetics |
| K04 | Exclamations, Expressions, Phrases, Proverbs, Sayings, Slang and Idioms |
| K05 | Descriptions |
| K06 | Order and Disorder, Methods and Meetings |
| K07 | Sources, Results, Solutions, Beginnings, Endings and Waste |
| K08 | Comparisons, Combinations, Connections, Distribution and Containers |
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| L01 | Rules, Law, Courts, Justice and Criminology |
| L02 | Threats, Safety and Security |
| L03 | Winning, Losing, Success, Failure, Luck, Fame and Fortune |
| L04 | Hide, Conceal, Secrets, Questions and Answers |
| L05 | Seek, Barriers, Limits and Restrictions |
| L06 | Help, Strong and Weak |
| L07 | Change, Plan, Functioning and Usefulness |
| L08 | Groups, Unity, Decision, Agreement and Harmony |
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| M01 | Logic, Intellect, Talent and Ability |
| M02 | Philosophy, Ideas, Knowledge and Inventions |
| M03 | Medicine, Health and Pharmacology |
| M04 | Memory, the Mind, Psychology and Emotion |
| M05 | Human Characteristics and Responsibilities |
| M06 | Corruption in Society, Sex and Pornography |
| M07 | Public and Private, Manners and Civility, Respect and Honor |
| M08 | Real, Counterfeit, Substitutes and Copies; Cheap and Expensive |
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| N01 | Military Affairs and Intelligence, Weapons, Strategy, War and Peace |
| N02 | Protest, Violence, Rebellion, Civil War, Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare |
| N03 | Engineering |
| N04 | Time and Tides |
| N05 | Organization, Competence, Aspiration and Obligation |
| N06 | Childhood, Maturation, Adulthood and Old Age |
| N07 | Sleep |
| N08 | Life, Death, Living and Dying |
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| O01 | General Physics |
| O02 | Space, Optics, Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| O03 | Atoms, Atomic Energy and Particle Physics |
| O04 | Aeronautics, Aviation, Air Power and Spaceflight |
| O05 | Weights, Measures, Flow, Positioning and Distance |
| O06 | Fire, Water and Ice |
| O07 | Weather, Meteorology and Conditions |
| O08 | Float, Wave, Rise in the Air, Spin, Revolve and Other Motions |
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| P01 | Faith, Religion, Morals and Ethics |
| P02 | Great Religious Writings |
| P03 | The Zodiac, Astrology and Other Symbols |
| P04 | Hope, Fate, Belief and Superstition |
| P05 | Women and Women's Things |
| P06 | Permission, Acceptance and Rejection |
| P07 | Opposites, Categories and Kinds |
| P08 | Collect, Assemble, Give and Receive |
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| Q01 | Sociology, Society and Culture |
| Q02 | Relationships |
| Q03 | Clothing, Fashion and Style |
| Q04 | Behavior, Habits and Addictions |
| Q05 | Home, Furniture, Household Appliances, Housewares and Household Activities |
| Q06 | Work, Jobs and Careers |
| Q07 | Sports, Athletics and Exercise |
| Q08 | Toys, Games, Gambling, Entertainment and Leisure Activities |
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| R01 | Gifts, Prizes, Ceremonies, Achievements and Philanthropy |
| R02 | Ships, Shipping, Sailing, Naval Forces and Maritime Affairs |
| R03 | Rope, Bind, Tie, Packaging and Packages |
| R04 | Travel, Transportation, Air Travel and Tourism |
| R05 | the Science of Mechanics, Mechanisms, Instruments, Devices, Machines and Engines |
| R06 | Vehicles, Driving and Speed |
| R07 | Breakage, Accidents and Disasters |
| R08 | Machine Parts, Tools and Their Use |