长短
cháng duǎn · HSK 6
length
📏 长短 = long + short; the span between extremes, hence length or right-and-wrong
Compound of 长 (cháng, long) + 短 (duǎn, short). Literally long-short, the pair covers any range: physical length, duration of time, or figuratively the gossip about who is right and who is wrong.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.
短 — arrow 矢 + bean/vessel 豆
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 矢 (arrow) gives the meaning, since arrows were used as a short measuring stick, while 豆 (an ancient stemmed vessel) supplied the sound. From 'short in length' the meaning broadened to 'short' in time, stature, or quality.