昨天 (zuó tiān) — yesterday | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Yesterday — the day before today. Pairs with 明天 (tomorrow); 去年 is last year, 前天 is the day before yesterday.

noun

yesterday

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.

昨zuóyesterday

昨 means yesterday and 天 means day, so the word points to the day before today.

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.

日乍昨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

昨 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 乍, which gives the sound and may also carry the sense “at first,” relating to an earlier day.

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

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.

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