成天 (chéng tiān) — all day long; all the time | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

成天 means 'all day long / constantly' and emphasizes unbroken, habitual duration — stronger than 时时 ('often, now and then') and informal in tone.

adverb

all day longall the time

Examples

成天，。
Tā chéng tiān dōu zài máng gōng zuò, hěn shǎo xiū xi.
He's busy with work all day long and rarely rests.
成天，。
Bié chéng tiān bào yuàn le, xiǎng bàn fǎ jiě jué wèn tí ba.
Stop complaining all the time; think of a way to solve the problem.
成天。
Tā chéng tiān pào zài tú shū guǎn lǐ xué xí.
She spends all day studying in the library.

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.

'成' means whole and '天' means day, so together they express the whole 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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng成chéng

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

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

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

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Frequency & Duration

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