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诞辰 (dàn chén) — (honorific, posthumous) birthday (of a respected deceased person)

Definition

诞辰 is the formal, honorific word for a respected or deceased person's birthday — use it in writing or commemorative contexts, not in everyday speech like 生日.

noun
(honorific, posthumous) birthday (of a respected deceased person)

Examples

  • 诞辰。
    Jīn tiān shì sūn zhōng shān xiān sheng de yì bǎi wǔ shí zhōu nián dàn chén.
    Today is the 150th anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's birth.
  • 诞辰。
    Xué xiào měi nián dōu huì jǔ bàn huó dòng jì niàn lǎo xiào zhǎng de dàn chén.
    Every year the school holds an event to commemorate the former principal's birthday.
  • 诞辰。
    Tā de dàn chén shì zài yí gè dòng dàng de nián dài.
    His birth took place in a turbulent era.

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.

诞dànbirth
辰chénday

诞 refers to birth and 辰 to a day; together they name the day of birth.

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 誕; 诞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán誕dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 誕 combines 言 (word, speech) with 延, which gives the sound; the simplified 诞 is a later shorthand.

Open 诞 →

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

The shape shows a farming tool used for tilling and weeding, possibly made from a large clam shell. It may also picture a person gripping a cliff.

Open 辰 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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