他日 (tā rì) — some other day; later on (formal/literary)

Definition

Literary/formal phrase for 'some other day' or 'in the future' — used in writing or speeches, not in everyday conversation. Similar in feel to 将来 (jiānglái) but more literary and less common in modern speech.

noun
some other daylater on (formal/literary)

Examples

  • 他日。
    tā rì Wǒ men zài tǎo lùn zhè ge wèn tí.
    We'll discuss this issue another day.
  • 他日。
    Tā xiāng xìn tā rì dìng néng qǔ dé gèng dà de chéng jiù.
    He believes that he will achieve even greater success in the future.
  • 他日，。
    tā rì Ruò yǒu yuán, wǒ men hái huì xiāng jiàn.
    If fate allows, we will meet again some other day.

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.

他tāother
日rìday

他 means other, and 日 means day, so it refers to some other day.

Characters in this word

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
亻Written in full as人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě他tā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

他 combines 亻 (a person) with 也, which was chosen for its sound.

Open 他 →

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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