佳期 (jiā jī) — wedding day; tryst day (day for a romantic meeting)

Definition

Literary, poetic term for a 'good day' for a wedding or romantic meeting — much more formal than just saying 结婚日. Almost always appears in set phrases like 良辰佳.

noun
wedding daytryst day (day for a romantic meeting)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 佳期。
    Tā men de jiā jī dìng zài xià ge yuè.
    Their wedding day is set for next month.
  • 佳期。
    Tā děng dài nà ge jiā jī yǐ jīng hěn jiǔ le.
    She has been waiting for that tryst day for a long time.
  • 佳期，。
    Liáng chén jiā jī, bù kě cuò guò.
    A good time and a happy day should not be missed.

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.

佳jiāgood
期qītime

佳 marks something fine or auspicious, and 期 names a set time; together they mean a good day, especially for marriage or a romantic meeting.

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
人人rénman; person
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī佳jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

佳 combines 人 (person) with 圭, which is used for the sound guī.

Open 佳 →

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →

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