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三日 (sān rì) — third day (of the month); three days (formal/literary)

Definition

三日 (sān rì) is the formal/literary 'three days' or 'the third day of the month' — unlike 三天, it is a set, fixed phrase used in written Chinese and dates, not in casual spoken time expressions.

noun
third day (of the month)three days (formal/literary)

Examples

  • 三日。
    Huì yì dìng zài sān yuè sān rì jǔ xíng.
    The meeting is scheduled for March 3rd.
  • 三日。
    sān rì Zhī nèi bì xū wán chéng zhè xiàng rèn wu.
    This task must be completed within three days.
  • 三日，。
    sān rì Bú jiàn, tā shòu le hěn duō.
    After not seeing him for three days, he has lost a lot of weight.

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.

三sānthree
日rìday

三 means three, 日 day; the third day or a span of three days.

Characters in this word

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

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →
Appears in
Days & Weeks

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