日晷 (rì guǐ) — sundial | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sundial

Measure word · 个

日晷。
Zhè ge rì guǐ kě yǐ gào sù wǒ men xiàn zài de shí jiān.
This sundial can tell us the current time.
日晷。
Zhōng guó gǔ dài hěn zǎo jiù kāi shǐ shǐ yòng rì guǐ le.
Ancient China started using sundials very early.
日晷，。
Gōng yuán lǐ fàng le yí gè dà rì guǐ, hěn duō yóu kè dōu zài pāi zhào.
A large sundial was placed in the park, and many tourists were taking photos.

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.

晷guǐshadow

日 gives sun, and 晷 gives shadow; the word names a device that tells time by the sun's shadow.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.