暮 (mù) — (bound morpheme) dusk, evening, sunset; (bound morpheme) towards the end, late (in life or a period)
Definition
A bound literary morpheme meaning 'dusk / evening' (as in 暮色) or 'late / towards the end' of a period (as in 暮年, 暮春). Almost never used alone — pair it with a noun to form compounds like 暮色, 暮年, 暮春.
bound form
(bound morpheme) duskeveningsunset(bound morpheme) towards the endlate (in life or a period)
Examples
- 。Wǒ xǐ huan zài mù sè zhōng sàn bù.I like to take a walk in the dusk.
- 暮，。Tā yǐ jīng dào le mù nián, dàn yī rán jīng lì chōng pèi.He has reached his twilight years but is still full of energy.
- 暮，。mù Chūn shí jié, huā yuán lǐ de huā dū kāi le.In late spring, all the flowers in the garden have bloomed.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
暮 adds 日 (sun) to 莫, the older picture of the sun setting. The added 日 marks the time of sunset.
Appears in
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