二十五日 (èr shí wǔ rì) — the 25th day of the month

Definition

A date phrase meaning 'the 25th (day of the month)', used in formal or written Chinese, especially for official documents and announcements.

noun
the 25th day of the month

Examples

  • 二十五日。
    Huì yì dìng zài èr shí wǔ rì.
    The meeting is scheduled for the 25th.
  • 二十五日。
    èr shí wǔ rì Shì wǒ mǔ qīn de shēng rì.
    The 25th is my mother's birthday.
  • 二十五日。
    Qǐng zài xià gè èr shí wǔ rì zhī qián wán chéng bào gào.
    Please complete the report before next month's 25th.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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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