日月 (rì yuè) — sun and moon; time; days; life; livelihood

Definition

Literary word for 'sun and moon', often used together to mean 'time / days' or 'one's livelihood' in classical or poetic contexts. Far more formal than the everyday time word 时间.

noun
sun and moontimedayslifelivelihood

Examples

  • 日月，。
    rì yuè Rú suō, zhuǎn yǎn yòu shì yì nián.
    Time flies like a shuttle — another year has passed in a blink.
  • 日月，。
    Nóng mín kào rì yuè guò huó, shōu cheng hǎo huài quán kàn tiān.
    Farmers make their livelihood by the sun and moon — the harvest depends entirely on the weather.
  • 日月。
    Gǔ rén cháng yǐ rì yuè bǐ yù guāng míng yǔ hēi àn.
    Ancient people often used the sun and moon as a metaphor for light and darkness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

日rìsun
月yuèmoon

日 and 月 stand for sun and moon, giving the sense of time or life.

Characters in this word

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

Open 月 →

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