九日 (jiǔ rì) — ninth day of the ninth lunar month

Definition

Literary term for the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the date of the Double Ninth Festival (重阳节). In modern speech people usually just say 重阳 or 九月初九.

noun
ninth day of the ninth lunar month

Examples

  • 九日，。
    Měi nián jiǔ rì, rén men dōu huì dēng gāo wàng yuǎn.
    Every year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, people climb high and look far.
  • 九日。
    jiǔ rì Shì chóng yáng jié de yí bù fen.
    The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is part of the Double Ninth Festival.
  • 九日。
    Tā zài jiǔ rì nà tiān xiě le yì shǒu shī.
    He wrote a poem on that ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

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.

九jiǔnine
日rìday

九 and 日 together mean the ninth day.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from a stylized hand bent at the wrist, with the lower-right hook showing the bend. Later, it was taken to show a tightened fist bumping up to ten, giving the number nine.

Open 九 →

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 →

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