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夕阳 (xī yáng) — sunset; the setting sun

Definition

夕阳 is the setting sun itself — the glowing disk. 黄昏 is the broader time of dusk; 晚霞 refers to the colored clouds in the sky after sunset.

sunsetthe setting sun
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，。
    xī yáng Xī xià, tiān kōng biàn chéng le hóng sè.
    The sun sets in the west, and the sky turns red.
  • 夕阳。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zài xī yáng de shí hou sàn bù.
    I like to take a walk at sunset.
  • 夕阳。
    Zhè fú huà miáo huì le měi lì de xī yáng jǐng sè.
    This painting depicts a beautiful sunset scene.

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.

夕xīevening
阳yángsun

夕 gives evening and 阳 gives sun, together the sun in the evening, i.e. sunset.

Characters in this word

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

夕 was drawn as a crescent moon.

Open 夕 →

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 陽; 阳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fùhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng陽yáng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 陽, 阜 shows a hill and 昜 is the older character for the word, tied to sunshine and the sound; simplified 阳 is a later shorthand.

Open 阳 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Time of Day

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