度日 (dù rì) — to pass the days (often implying hardship, bore…

Definition

度日 (dù rì) means to pass or get through the days, usually with a sense of hardship, boredom, or just enduring time — not neutral 'spending time'.

verb

to pass the days (often implying hardship, boredom, or difficulty)

，度日。
Tā zài nà jiā gōng sī měi tiān dōu hěn bù kāi xīn, zhēn shì dù rì.
He is very unhappy every day at that company — it really is just passing the days.
，度日。
Shēng bìng de nà duàn shí jiān, tā shì zài yī yuàn lǐ dù rì de.
During that period of illness, he passed the days in the hospital.
，。
Wǒ zài xiāng xia dù le liǎng tiān de rì, jué de hěn wú liáo.
I spent two days passing the time in the countryside, and found it very boring.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

度dùpass/spend

度 means to pass or spend, 日 means days; together describe spending time, often with difficulty.

Characters in this word

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

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.

Appears in