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时下 (shí xià) — the present time; the current era

Definition

Formal/literary noun for 'the present time, nowadays' — stronger written register than 现在. Almost always used in journalism, essays, or other writing, not in everyday speech.

noun
the present timethe current era

Examples

  • 时下。
    shí xià Xǔ duō nián qīng rén xǐ huan zài wǎng shàng gòu wù.
    Nowadays many young people like to shop online.
  • 时下。
    shí xià De shè huì biàn huà fēi cháng kuài.
    The social changes at present are very fast.
  • 时下。
    shí xià Zuì liú xíng de shì rén gōng zhì néng jì shù.
    What's most popular at present is AI technology.

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.

时shítime
下xiàcurrent

时 (time) and 下 (current) combine to mean the present time or era.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →
Appears in
Time (Abstract)

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