无日 (wú rì) — (literary) every day; no day passes without; (literary) before long; soon

Definition

Literary adverb meaning 'every day (something happens)' or 'before long / soon', always used in a negative or anticipatory context (e.g. 无日不…, 完工无日).

adverb
(literary) every dayno day passes without(literary) before longsoon

Examples

  • 无日。
    Tā wú rì bù dú shū.
    He doesn't spend a day without reading.
  • 无日。
    Xiàng mù wán chéng wú rì.
    The project will be completed soon.
  • 无日。
    Yóu zǐ wú rì bù sī gù xiāng.
    The traveler thinks of home every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúnot have
日rìday

无 means no, and 日 means day; together they express no day passing or before long.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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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