破晓 (pò xiǎo) — dawn; daybreak (literary)

Definition

Literary, written-style word for 'dawn, daybreak' — more poetic than the plain 黎明 or 早上. Common in prose, poetry, and titles.

noun

dawndaybreak (literary)

破晓，。
Zài pò xiǎo de nà yí kè, shì jiè fǎng fú xǐng le.
At the moment of dawn, the world seems to awaken.
，破晓。
Lí míng qián de hēi àn guò qù, pò xiǎo dài lái le guāng míng.
The darkness before dawn passes, and daybreak brings light.
破晓。
Tā xǐ huan zài shān dǐng děng dài pò xiǎo.
He likes to wait for dawn on the mountaintop.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

破 means break and 晓 means dawn, so daybreak is pictured as dawn being broken open.

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.

石皮破

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

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

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 曉; 晓 is its simplified writing.

日堯曉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

堯

堯yáo曉xiǎo

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

The traditional form 曉 puts 日, a sun, beside 堯, which gives the sound; the simplified 晓 is a shorthand and its right side is not that sound part.

Appears in