艳阳天 (yàn yáng tiān) — bright spring day (poetic); beautiful sunny day

Definition

A literary word for a brilliantly sunny day, most often a bright spring day with strong, warm sunshine. Used in writing more than everyday speech.

noun
bright spring day (poetic)beautiful sunny day

Examples

  • 艳阳天，。
    Jīn tiān shì gè yàn yáng tiān, wǒ men yì qǐ qù gōng yuán ba.
    Today is a bright spring day; let's go to the park together.
  • 艳阳天，。
    Zài zhè yàn yáng tiān lǐ, xīn qíng yě tè bié hǎo.
    On this bright spring day, my mood is especially good.
  • 艳阳天。
    yàn yáng tiān Zuì shì hé chū qù jiāo yóu le.
    A bright spring day is the best for going on an outing.

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.

艳阳bright sun
艳yànbright阳yángsun
偏正Modifier + head
天tiānday

艳 bright and 阳 sun picture a bright sun, setting the 天 day.

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 豔; 艳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
豐豐fēngabundant, great
Sound part声符shēngfú
盇
盇hé豔yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 豔 pairs 豐 (abundant, great) with a sound component 盇; the simplified 艳 is a later abbreviation.

Open 艳 →

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 陽; 阳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fùhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng陽yáng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 陽, 阜 shows a hill and 昜 is the older character for the word, tied to sunshine and the sound; simplified 阳 is a later shorthand.

Open 阳 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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