十四日 (shí sì rì) — the 14th day (of the month)

Definition

noun
the 14th day (of the month)

Examples

  • 十四日。
    Huì yì dìng zài shí sì rì.
    The meeting is set for the 14th.
  • 十四日。
    shí sì rì Shì wǒ de shēng rì.
    The 14th is my birthday.
  • 十四日，。
    Cóng shí sì rì qǐ, xué xiào fàng jià.
    Starting from the 14th, the school is on holiday.

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.

十四fourteen
十shíten四sìfour
联合Side by side
日rìday

'十四' gives the number fourteen, and '日' means day, so it names the fourteenth day.

Characters in this word

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.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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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