Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 3

太阳

sun; sunlight

nounneutral
太
tài4th tone
阳
yáng2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
tàiyáng
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
10
Register
neutral
Measure word
个 / 轮

Stroke order for 太阳

太阳 is written with 10 strokes (太: 4, 阳: 6). The animation replays automatically.

What does 太阳 mean?

太阳 (tàiyáng) is the everyday word for 'the sun.'

It also extends to mean 'sunshine / sunlight' in casual speech: 今天太阳很大 literally 'the sun is big today' really means 'it's very sunny today.' Useful patterns: 晒太阳 (shài tàiyáng) means 'to sunbathe / soak up sun' — Chinese frames it as 'letting the sun bake you,' which sounds odd in English. 出太阳 (chū tàiyáng, 'the sun comes out') describes a sunny day after clouds.

太阳能 (tàiyángnéng) is 'solar energy.' Culturally, the sun is associated with yang (阳) energy — warmth, masculinity, daytime — opposite of the moon (月亮) and yin. The shorter character 阳 alone means 'sun / yang / south side of a hill' and appears in many city names (Shenyang, Luoyang).

Character by character

太tàigreat; extreme
+
阳yángsun; yang; bright
=
太阳

Memory hook: 太 'extremely' + 阳 'bright/sun' = the extremely bright one — the sun.

Example sentences

今天太阳很大。

Jīntiān tàiyáng hěn dà.

The sun is strong today / it's really sunny today.

spoken

太阳从东边出来。

Tàiyáng cóng dōngbiān chūlái.

The sun rises from the east.

neutral

我喜欢在公园里晒太阳。

Wǒ xǐhuan zài gōngyuán lǐ shài tàiyáng.

I like sunbathing in the park.

spoken

外面没有太阳，有点儿冷。

Wàimiàn méiyǒu tàiyáng, yǒudiǎnr lěng.

There's no sun outside, so it's a bit cold.

spoken

下午的太阳没有中午那么大。

Xiàwǔ de tàiyáng méiyǒu zhōngwǔ nàme dà.

The afternoon sun isn't as strong as the noon sun.

neutral

Common phrases with 太阳

晒太阳shài tàiyángto sunbathe; soak up sun
出太阳chū tàiyángthe sun comes out; it's sunny
太阳大tàiyáng dàthe sun is strong; very sunny
太阳能tàiyángnéngsolar energy
太阳镜tàiyángjìngsunglasses

Synonyms

阳光yángguāng

阳光 specifically means 'sunlight / sunshine' (the light from the sun). 太阳 is the sun itself. You enjoy 阳光 (light), but you look at the 太阳 (the object).

Don't confuse 太阳 with

阳光yángguāng

阳光 = sunlight (the rays). 太阳 = the sun (the body emitting them). 阳光很好 'the sunlight is nice'; 太阳很大 'the sun is strong / very sunny.'

太tài

太 by itself means 'too / extremely' (太热 'too hot'). It only means 'sun' when paired with 阳 to form 太阳.

FAQ

Acquire it by listening

Meet 太阳 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 太阳 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.