大后天 (dà hòu tiān) — three days from now; the day after the day after tomorrow

Definition

noun
three days from nowthe day after the day after tomorrow

Examples

  • 大后天。
    dà hòu tiān Jiù shì wǒ de shēng rì le.
    Three days from now is my birthday.
  • 大后天。
    Wǒ men dà hòu tiān chū fā qù lǚ xíng.
    We will set off on a trip three days from now.
  • 大后天。
    dà hòu tiān De piào yǐ jīng mài wán le.
    Tickets for three days from now are already sold out.

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.

大dàextra
后天day after tomorrow
后hòulater天tiānday
偏正Modifier + head

大 adds one more day to 后天, giving the day after the day after tomorrow.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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