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整天 (zhěng tiān) — the whole day; all day long; (figuratively) all the time; always (often with a negative connotation)

Definition

A noun meaning 'the whole day / all day long'; in 整天都 + verb patterns it often carries a complaint tone ('always, non-stop'). Pairs like 一整天 ('a whole day') but without the 'one' count.

noun
the whole dayall day long(figuratively) all the timealways (often with a negative connotation)

Examples

  • 整天。
    Tā zhěng tiān dōu zài tú shū guǎn xué xí.
    He studies in the library all day long.
  • 整天，。
    Bié zhěng tiān wán shǒu jī, chū qù zǒu zǒu.
    Don't play on your phone all the time — go out for a walk.
  • 整天。
    Wǒ zhěng tiān máng dé méi shí jiān chī fàn.
    I'm so busy the whole day that I have no time to eat.

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.

整zhěngwhole
天tiānday

整 means whole and 天 means day, so the pair denotes all day or day after 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
敕敕chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng整zhěng
Same sound today

整 pairs 敕 as the meaning side with 正 as the sound side.

Open 整 →

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 →
Appears in
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