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天日 (tiān rì) — (literary) the sky and the sun; daylight; (figurative) light of day (as in freedom or justice)

Definition

Literary/archaic noun for 'the sky and sun' or, figuratively, daylight as a symbol of freedom or justice (as in 重见天日, 'to see the light of day again'). Mostly seen in set phrases, not everyday speech.

noun
(literary) the sky and the sundaylight(figurative) light of day (as in freedom or justice)

Examples

  • ，。
    Jīng guò duō nián de nǔ lì, tā zhōng yú chóng jiàn tiān rì.
    After years of effort, he finally saw the light of day again.
  • ，。
    Zài zhè piàn huāng wú zhī dì, lián tiān rì dōu xiǎn de gé wài zhēn guì.
    In this barren land, even the daylight seems especially precious.
  • 天日。
    Gǔ rén rèn wéi tiān rì shì zhèng yì de xiàng zhēng.
    The ancients believed that the sky and sun were symbols of justice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

天tiānsky
日rìsun

天 means sky and 日 means sun, together evoking daylight or the light of 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
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 →

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 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

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