十二日 (shí èr rì) — the 12th day of the month

Definition

A formal way to say 'the 12th day of the month,' common in writing, schedules, and announcements. In everyday speech, 十二号 is more common.

noun
the 12th day of the month
Easily confused

Examples

  • 十二日。
    Huì yì dìng zài shí èr rì.
    The meeting is scheduled for the 12th.
  • 十二日。
    shí èr rì Shì wǒ de shēng rì.
    The 12th is my birthday.
  • 十二日。
    Cóng shí èr rì kāi shǐ fàng jià.
    The holiday starts from the 12th.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

十二twelve
十shíten二èrtwo
联合Side by side
日rìday

十 and 二 make twelve, and 日 means day, so the whole names the twelfth day.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →

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