暑 (shǔ) — summer heat; hot weather (bound morpheme in compounds)

Definition

暑 is a bound morpheme meaning 'summer heat' — it only appears inside compounds like 暑假, 暑气, and 酷暑, never as a word on its own. Pairs with 热 for general heat; use 炎夏 or 酷暑 for intense summer heat.

bound form
summer heathot weather (bound morpheme in compounds)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    shǔ Jià wǒ men qù le hǎi biān.
    We went to the seaside during summer vacation.
  • 。
    Xià tiān kù shǔ nán nài.
    The summer heat is unbearable.
  • 暑，。
    shǔ Qì wèi xiāo, hái shì hěn rè.
    The summer heat hasn't dissipated yet; it's still hot.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

暑 is built from 日, which carries the meaning, and 者, which carries the sound.

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