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
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).