晚间 (wǎn jiān) — (in the) evening; (at) night (slightly more for… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal written word for 'evening', most common in news and broadcast contexts (e.g. 晚间新闻). Use 晚上 for everyday speech.

noun

(in the) evening(at) night (slightly more formal than 晚上)

Examples

晚间。
Tā xǐ huan zài wǎn jiān sàn bù.
He likes to take a walk in the evening.
晚间。
wǎn jiān De xīn wén jié mù hěn shòu huān yíng.
The evening news program is very popular.
晚间。
Wǒ men wǎn jiān zài tǎo lùn zhè ge wèn tí ba.
Let's discuss this issue again in the evening.

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.

晚wǎnevening

晚 'evening' joined with 间 'time' names the evening period.

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.

日免晚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

免miǎn晚wǎn

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

晚 pairs 日, the sun part, with 免, which supplies the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

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