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HSK 2

日

day; sun

nounwritten
日
rì4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
rì
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
4
Register
written

Stroke order for 日

日 is written with 4 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 日 mean?

日 (rì) means both 'day' and 'sun' — it is the pictograph the character started as.

In modern Mandarin, bare 日 has largely been replaced in speech by 天 (tiān, 'day') and 太阳 (tàiyáng, 'sun'); you will rarely hear someone say 今日 instead of 今天 in casual conversation. Where 日 still rules is in writing dates and in two-character compounds. Dates always use 日 in formal writing: 5月16日 (May 16).

The character also locks into 生日 (shēngrì, 'birthday'), 日记 (rìjì, 'diary'), 星期日 (xīngqīrì, 'Sunday'), 日本 (Rìběn, 'Japan' — literally 'sun's origin'), and 日常 (rìcháng, 'daily'). When you see 日 standing alone, think 'written / formal,' and switch to 天 when speaking.

Note: Written / formal. In spoken Mandarin, 天 (tiān) is the everyday word for 'day.' 日 survives in dates, formal writing, and fixed compounds (生日, 日记, 星期日).

Example sentences

我的生日是五月十六日。

Wǒ de shēngrì shì wǔ yuè shíliù rì.

My birthday is May 16th.

neutral

今天是星期日。

Jīntiān shì xīngqīrì.

Today is Sunday.

neutral

他来自日本。

Tā láizì Rìběn.

He's from Japan.

neutral

她每天写日记。

Tā měi tiān xiě rìjì.

She writes in her diary every day.

neutral

Common phrases with 日

生日shēngrìbirthday
日记rìjìdiary
星期日xīngqīrìSunday
日本RìběnJapan
今日jīnrìtoday (written / formal)

Synonyms

天tiān

天 is the spoken word for 'day' — 今天 ('today'), 明天 ('tomorrow'), 三天 ('three days'). Use 日 in dates and formal writing; use 天 in speech and when counting days.

太阳tàiyáng

太阳 is the everyday word for 'the sun.' 日 only means the sun in literary contexts (日出 'sunrise,' 日落 'sunset'). In conversation, say 太阳出来了, not 日出来了.

Don't confuse 日 with

目mù

目 ('eye') looks like 日 with an extra horizontal stroke inside. 日 has two strokes inside (or two segments); 目 has three. Different word, different meaning.

白bái

白 ('white') is 日 with a small stroke on top. The components share a root visually but mean different things.

天tiān

天 is the spoken counterpart for 'day' and also means 'sky / heaven.' For dates 日; for counting days or in speech 天.

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