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月底 (yuè de) — end of the month

Definition

noun
end of the month

Examples

  • 月底。
    Wǒ men yuè de yào jiāo fáng zū.
    We need to pay rent at the end of the month.
  • 月底。
    Zhè ge yuè de wǒ men qù lǚ xíng.
    We're going on a trip at the end of this month.
  • 月底。
    yuè de Zhī qián bì xū wán chéng gōng zuò.
    The work must be completed before the end of the month.

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.

月yuèmonth
底dǐbottom/end

月 means month and 底 means bottom or end; together they express the end of the month.

Characters in this word

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

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

Open 月 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →
Appears in
Months & Dates

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