往日 (wǎng rì) — former days; the past | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/written word for 'former days, the past,' used in reflective or nostalgic writing. More elevated than 过去 and 往日, closer to 昔日; 往事 focuses on past events, not the time itself.

noun

former daysthe past

Examples

往日。
Tā cháng cháng huái niàn wǎng rì de měi hǎo.
She often misses the beauty of the past.
往日。
wǎng rì De yǒu yì yǐ jīng jiàn jiàn dàn le.
The friendship of former days has gradually faded.
往日，。
Yǔ wǎng rì xiāng bǐ, xiàn zài de shēng huó gèng máng lù.
Compared to the past, life now is busier.

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.

往日 joins 往 meaning former with 日 meaning day, giving the sense of past days.

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

止止zhǐfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

王

王wáng往wǎng

Same sound today

The form that became 往 paired 止, a foot, with 王 for the sound; a stepping part was later added, and the right side changed.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Time (Abstract)

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