朔 (shuò) — (bound form) new moon; (bound form) first day of the lunar month; (bound form) north (in literary compounds)
Definition
A classical, written-only bound form meaning 'new moon / first day of the lunar month' (as in 朔望) and 'north' (as in 朔风). Learners will only meet it inside literary compounds like 朔望 or 朔风 — never as a stand-alone word.
bound form
new moonfirst day of the lunar monthnorth (in literary compounds)
Examples
- 朔。Nóng lì de shuò rì shì xīn yuè de kāi shǐ.The first day of the lunar month is the beginning of the new moon.
- 朔。shuò Wàng shì zhǐ xīn yuè hé mǎn yuè.朔望 refers to the new moon and full moon.
- 朔，。Dōng tiān guā qǐ le shuò fēng, tiān qì hěn lěng.The north wind started blowing in winter, and the weather was very cold.
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.
Sound part声符shēngfú
屰
屰nì朔shuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
朔 combines 月, the moon, with 屰, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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