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礼拜一 (lǐ bài yī) — Monday

Definition

礼拜一 is the everyday spoken word for 'Monday,' used everywhere from casual chats to schedules. It comes from 礼拜 ('week'), so you'll also hear 礼拜二 (Tuesday), 礼拜三, and so on through 礼拜日/礼拜天 (Sunday). It's more colloquial than the formal 周一.

noun
Monday

Examples

  • 礼拜一。
    lǐ bài yī Shì wǒ de shēng rì.
    Monday is my birthday.
  • 礼拜一。
    Wǒ men lǐ bài yī kāi huì.
    We have a meeting on Monday.
  • 礼拜一？
    lǐ bài yī Nǐ zuò shén me?
    What are you doing on Monday?

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.

礼拜week
礼lǐrite拜bàiworship
联合Coordinate
一yīfirst

The first day of a 礼拜 (week).

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 禮; 礼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
礻Written in full as示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ禮lǐ
Same sound today

The traditional form 禮 pairs 礻 (altar) with 豊, a sound part, for performing rites at the altar; the simplified 礼 is a later shorthand.

Open 礼 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

拜 combines 扌 (hand, written fully as 手) with 𠦪 (herbs), showing a hand holding herbs as a gift.

Open 拜 →

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →
Appears in
Days & Weeks

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