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日以继夜 (rì yǐ jì yè) — day and night; round the clock; nonstop

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'day and night, nonstop.' Often used in writing or speeches to praise hard work or sustained effort.

idiom
day and nightround the clocknonstop

Examples

  • ，日以继夜。
    Wèi le wán chéng xiàng mù, tā men rì yǐ jì yè dì gōng zuò.
    To finish the project, they worked day and night.
  • 日以继夜。
    Jiù yuán duì rì yǐ jì yè dì sōu jiù shī zōng de dēng shān zhě.
    The rescue team searched for the missing climbers around the clock.
  • ，。
    Tā rì yǐ jì yè xué xí, zhōng yú tōng guò le kǎo shì.
    He studied day and night and finally passed the exam.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The shape came from a drawing of a person carrying something; in 以, part of that person is still visible on the right.

Open 以 →

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 繼; 继 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
㡭
㡭㡭繼jì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繼 pairs 糸 (rope) with 㡭 as a sound part; an older form may have shown four silk strands. The simplified 继 is only a later shorthand.

Open 继 →

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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