昨晚 (zuó wǎn) — last night, yesterday evening

Definition

noun

last nightyesterday evening

昨晚。
zuó wǎn Wǒ shuì dé hěn wǎn.
I slept very late last night.
昨晚。
zuó wǎn De diàn shì jié mù hěn hǎo kàn.
Last night's TV program was very good.
昨晚？
Nǐ zuó wǎn qù nǎ r le?
Where did you go last night?

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 points to yesterday, and 晚 to evening, so the time is last night.

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.

日免晚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

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

晚 pairs 日, the sun part, with 免, which supplies the sound.

Appears in