The kanji character 短短 primarily means "short," in terms of length or duration. It conveys the idea of something being of limited extent, whether that be a physical measurement or the passage of time. It can also imply brevity, lacking depth, or being inadequate.

・On-yomi (音読み): タン (tan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): みじか（い） (mijika(i))

⚫︎短時間 Translation: Short time / Brief time ⚫︎短大 Translation: Junior college (literally "short university") ⚫︎短所 Translation: Weak point; shortcoming (literally "short point")

The kanji 短短 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is a radical called 矢 (ya), meaning "arrow." The right side is 豆 (mame), meaning "bean." The original meaning might have related to a short arrow, and the "bean" part was likely included to indicate a sound element. Over time, the meaning of "short" generalized to describe anything limited in length or duration.