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一天天 (yī tiān tiān) — day after day; day by day; gradually over the course of days

Definition

An adverbial phrase meaning 'day by day' or 'day after day', emphasizing gradual, continuous change over time. Often used before verbs like 变化, 提高, 变暖 to describe slow, ongoing progress.

noun
day after dayday by daygradually over the course of days

Examples

  • 一天天。
    Wǒ men de chéng shì zhèng zài yī tiān tiān dì biàn huà.
    Our city is changing day by day.
  • 一天天。
    Hái zi de hàn yǔ shuǐ píng yī tiān tiān tí gāo le.
    The child's Chinese level is improving day after day.
  • 一天天，。
    Tiān qì yī tiān tiān biàn nuǎn, chūn tiān kuài dào le.
    The weather is getting warmer day by day; spring is almost here.

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.

一yīone
天天every day
天tiānday天tiānday
重叠Reduplication

天天 means every day; 一天天 as a whole expresses day after day and gradual change.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

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 →
Appears in
Frequency & DurationTime (Abstract)

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