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晚上 (wǎn shang) — evening

Definition

The everyday word for 'evening' — the time from sunset to bedtime. Compare 夜晚, which means 'night' (later, darker), and 傍晚, which is specifically 'dusk' around sunset.

noun
evening
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 晚上。
    Wǒ wǎn shang zài jiā.
    I am at home in the evening.
  • 晚上？
    Nǐ wǎn shang chī shén me?
    What do you eat in the evening?
  • 晚上。
    Wǒ men wǎn shang kàn diàn shì.
    We watch TV in the evening.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

晚wǎnevening
上shàngsuffix

The 晚 sense of evening plus 上 gives the word for the time of 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
免
免miǎn晚wǎn
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.

Open 晚 →

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

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →
Appears in
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