Meaning of 夏天
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- summer
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 夏天
夏天 is the everyday word for summer and often appears with 在 or as a time word at the start of a sentence. Example: 夏天很热。(Xiàtiān hěn rè.) Summer is very hot. The other seasons follow the same pattern: 春天 (chūntiān) spring, 秋天 (qiūtiān) autumn, 冬天 (dōngtiān) winter.
夏 (xià) means summer and 天 (tiān) means day or sky, so 夏天 is the season of long, hot summer days. Picture the sky 天 at its brightest during the summer season 夏.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 夏天 with a rising tone on 夏, but it is fourth tone, xià, a sharp falling sound. Also do not confuse 夏 (xià, summer) with 下 (xià, below), which sounds the same but means something different.
夏天 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
夏 xià · summer · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 夏天.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) |
| 冬天 | dōngtiān | winter |
| 天上 | tiānshàng | the sky; the heavens |
Questions about 夏天
What does 夏天 mean?
夏天 (xiàtiān) means "summer" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 夏天?
夏天 is made of 2 characters: 夏 (10 strokes), 天 (4 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 夏天 an HSK word?
Yes. 夏天 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say "this summer" or "last summer" in Chinese?
Put 今年 (jīnnián) or 去年 (qùnián) before it: 今年夏天 (jīnnián xiàtiān) this summer, 去年夏天 (qùnián xiàtiān) last summer. Do not use 这 or 上 the way English uses "this" or "last" here.
Does 天 in 夏天 mean the same as in 今天 or 明天?
In 今天 and 明天, 天 means a single day. In 夏天 it refers to a period of weather or time, much like in 天气 (tiānqì) weather, so 夏天 means the whole summer season, not one summer day.