长
cháng
A long road, a long wait, a long queue
The picture A line running far, from one end all the way out to the other. 长 runs the line far; 短 cuts it to a single stub.
Where the picture shows up in 长
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running along a road
这条路很长,开车要两个小时。
zhè tiáo lù hěn cháng, kāi chē yào liǎng ge xiǎo shí.
This road is long — two hours by car.
Through the windscreen, the road running in one line to the horizon
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running through time
我在外面等了很长时间。
wǒ zài wài miàn děng le hěn cháng shí jiān.
I waited outside for a long time.
The shadow at your feet having moved to the other side while you stood there
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running down a hem
这条裤子有点长,能改一改吗?
zhè tiáo kù zi yǒu diǎn cháng, néng gǎi yi gǎi ma?
These trousers are a bit long — can they be taken up?
A hem covering the shoe and dragging on the floor
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running through people
前面的队太长了,我们换一家。
qián miàn de duì tài cháng le, wǒ men huàn yì jiā.
The queue ahead is too long — let's try somewhere else.
A line of people running past the shop door and down to the end of the street
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running across a term
这是一份长期的工作,不是临时的。
zhè shì yí fèn cháng qī de gōng zuò, bú shì lín shí de.
This is a long-term job, not a temporary one.
A contract's date field with a start close by and an end set far off
All of it in one picture
长 is one line running far. Run it along a road and the drive is long; run it through time and you've waited a long while; run it down a trouser leg and the hem drags; run it through people and the queue is long; run it across a contract and the job is long-term.