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礼拜二 (lǐ bài èr) — Tuesday

Definition

礼拜二 (lǐbài èr) means 'Tuesday' — the same day of the week as 周二, but 礼拜 is a more colloquial and often religiously tinged way of naming the days (also 礼拜天 for Sunday).

noun
Tuesday

Examples

  • 礼拜二。
    Xià gè lǐ bài èr shì wǒ de shēng rì.
    Next Tuesday is my birthday.
  • 礼拜二。
    Wǒ men lǐ bài èr wǎn shàng jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's meet on Tuesday evening.
  • 礼拜二。
    Měi gè lǐ bài èr wǒ dōu qù tú shū guǎn.
    I go to the library every Tuesday.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

礼拜week
礼lǐritual拜bàibow
联合Coordinate
二èrsecond

礼拜 names the week, and 二 marks its second day.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 禮; 礼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
礻Written in full as示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ禮lǐ
Same sound today

The traditional form 禮 pairs 礻 (altar) with 豊, a sound part, for performing rites at the altar; the simplified 礼 is a later shorthand.

Open 礼 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

拜 combines 扌 (hand, written fully as 手) with 𠦪 (herbs), showing a hand holding herbs as a gift.

Open 拜 →

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

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →
Appears in
Days & Weeks

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