后半夜 (hòu bàn yè) — second half of the night, from midnight to dawn

Definition

noun
second half of the nightfrom midnight to dawn

Examples

  • 后半夜。
    Wǒ cháng cháng gōng zuò dào hòu bàn yè.
    I often work until the second half of the night.
  • 后半夜。
    hòu bàn yè De jiē dào fēi cháng ān jìng.
    The streets in the second half of the night are very quiet.
  • 后半夜。
    Wǒ men zài hòu bàn yè de shí hou chū fā le.
    We set off in the second half of the night.

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.

后hòulate
半夜half of the night
半bànhalf夜yènight
偏正Modifier + head

后 (late) narrows 半夜 (half of the night) to the second half of the night.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夕夕xīmoon
Sound part声符shēngfú
亦
亦yì夜yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Open 夜 →

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