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星期三 (xīng qī sān) — Wednesday

Definition

noun
Wednesday

Examples

  • 星期三。
    Wǒ men xīng qī sān xià wǔ sān diǎn jiàn miàn.
    We'll meet at 3 PM on Wednesday.
  • 。
    Xià xīng qī sān yǒu shù xué kǎo shì.
    There's a math exam next Wednesday.
  • 星期三。
    xīng qī sān Wǎn shàng wǒ tōng cháng qù jiàn shēn fáng.
    I usually go to the gym on Wednesday evenings.

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.

星期week
星xīngstar期qīperiod
偏正Modifier + head
三sānthird

星 (star) and 期 (period) form the idea of a week, and 三 (third) marks the third day of it.

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.

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Open 星 →

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

Grammar

Appears in
Days & Weeks

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