下礼拜 (xià lǐ bài) — next week

Definition

Colloquial 'next week' — everyday spoken form. The written/formal counterpart is 下周.

noun
next week

Examples

  • 下礼拜
    Wǒ men xià lǐ bài jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's meet next week.
  • 下礼拜
    xià lǐ bài Wǒ yào qù běi jīng chū chāi.
    I have a business trip to Beijing next week.
  • 下礼拜
    Kǎo shì xià lǐ bài kāi shǐ, nǐ zhǔn bèi hǎo le ma?
    The exam starts next week, are you ready?

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
ritualbàibow
联合Coordinate

下 “next” + 礼拜 “week” = the week after this one.

Characters in this word

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

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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
Written in full asshìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
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 →
Appears in

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