翌日 (yì rì) — the next day, the following day (formal/literary)

Definition

翌日 is a formal, written synonym for 明天 ('tomorrow' / 'the next day'). It almost never appears in speech — use it in news, reports, or narrative writing to sound elevated.

noun
the next daythe following day (formal/literary)

Examples

  • ，翌日。
    Tā dào dá běi jīng, yì rì biàn kāi shǐ le gōng zuò.
    He arrived in Beijing and started work the next day.
  • ，翌日。
    Jù huì jié shù hòu, yì rì yì zǎo tā men jiù chū fā le.
    After the party ended, they set off early the next morning.
  • ，翌日。
    Tā jiē dào tōng zhī, yì rì bì xū cān jiā huì yì.
    She received the notice and had to attend the meeting the following day.

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.

翌yìnext
日rìday

翌 means next or following, and 日 means day, giving the next 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
昱昱yù
Sound part声符shēngfú
羽
羽yǔ翌yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

翌 is made of 昱, which carries the meaning, and 羽, which gives the sound.

Open 翌 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →

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