当夜 (dāng yè) — that night; the same night (referring to a spec…

Definition

noun

that nightthe same night (referring to a specific night already mentioned)

当夜。
dāng yè Wǒ men jué dìng dì èr tiān yì zǎo chū fā.
That night we decided to set off early the next morning.
当夜，。
dāng yè Xià qǐ le dà yǔ, lù shang jī hū méi yǒu xíng rén.
That night it started raining heavily, and there were almost no pedestrians on the road.
当夜，。
Tā dāng yè méi yǒu huí jiā, jiā rén hěn dān xīn.
He didn't come home that night, and his family was very worried.

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.

当dāngthat/same time

当 gives the sense of the same or relevant time, and 夜 is night, together meaning that night.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

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

夕夕xīmoon

Sound part声符shēngfú

亦

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.