吉日 (jí rì) — an auspicious day (often chosen for important events); the first day of a lunar month (considered auspicious)

Definition

吉日 (jírì) means 'auspicious day' — a date picked for important events like weddings or moving. Rooted in traditional Chinese calendar customs, where the first day of a lunar month is considered especially lucky.

noun
an auspicious day (often chosen for important events)the first day of a lunar month (considered auspicious)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 吉日。
    Tā men xuǎn le yí gè jí rì jǔ xíng hūn lǐ.
    They chose an auspicious day to hold the wedding.
  • 吉日。
    Bān jiā shí rén men cháng kàn jí rì lái dìng rì zi.
    When moving, people often look at auspicious days to set the date.
  • 吉日。
    Nóng lì měi gè yuè de dì yī tiān cháng bèi rèn wéi shì jí rì.
    The first day of each lunar month is often regarded as an auspicious 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.

吉jíauspicious
日rìday

吉 gives auspicious, 日 gives day; together they mean an auspicious day.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In the earliest forms, 吉 was drawn with a mouth-like lower part and an upper part that later became today's upper shape.

Open 吉 →

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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