隔日 (gé rì) — every other day; the following day; the next day

Definition

Means either 'every other day' (an interval, as in taking medicine) or 'the next day / the day after' (a point in time, as in a notice taking effect). Read the context to tell which sense applies.

noun
every other daythe following daythe next day

Examples

  • 隔日。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì gé rì fú yào.
    The doctor recommends taking the medicine every other day.
  • 隔日。
    Zhè ge tōng zhī gé rì shēng xiào.
    This notice takes effect the following day.
  • 隔日。
    Huì yì gé rì jì xù jǔ xíng.
    The meeting will continue the next day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

隔géseparate by
日rìday

隔 (separate by) and 日 (day) describe a day separated by another 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
阝Written in full as阜fùwall
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬲
鬲gé隔gé
Same sound today

隔 puts 阝, a wall, with 鬲, which gives the sound gé, to show separating with a wall.

Open 隔 →

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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