As the Japanese word 'sunpo' (length) shows, sun is used to express 'length;' and it also means short, small, or the like, which is seen in some Japanese words, such as 'sungeki' (a short play), 'sunshi' (literally, a small token of one's gratitude, which is used as a humble expression by a gift sender), 'sunpyo' (a brief comment), 'sundan' (cutting something into shreds), and 'chotto' (in Chinese characters, 一寸; for a while, or a little).
「寸法」という言葉もあるように「長さ」の意味でも用い、「寸劇」「寸志」「寸評」「寸断」「一寸（ちょっと）」など、短いこと、わずかなことの意味にも用いる。