夏时制 (xià shí zhì) — daylight saving time

Definition

noun

daylight saving time

夏时制。
Měi guó měi nián sān yuè kāi shǐ shí xíng xià shí zhì.
The United States starts daylight saving time every March.
夏时制，。
xià shí zhì Qī jiān, tiān hēi dé bǐ jiào wǎn.
During daylight saving time, it gets dark later.
夏时制。
Hěn duō guó jiā yǐ jīng qǔ xiāo le xià shí zhì.
Many countries have already abolished daylight saving time.

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.

夏时summer time

偏正Modifier + head

夏时 marks summer time, and 制 names the official system.

Characters in this word

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

Some scholars connect 夏 to 日 (sun) and 頁 (head; man), reading it as a man under the sun, but this is uncertain.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun; day

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

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

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.