太阳
sun; sunlight
tàiyáng
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 breakdown
great; extreme
sun; yang; bright
Memory hook: 太 'extremely' + 阳 'bright/sun' = the extremely bright one — the sun.
Measure word for 太阳
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
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Synonyms
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
FAQ
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