Meaning of 日
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) sun
- day
- day of the month
- (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3])
- (vulgar) to fuck; to have sex with
How to use 日
日 rarely stands alone in speech. It usually appears inside words like 生日 (shēngrì, birthday) and 节日 (jiérì, holiday), or in written dates where it marks the day of the month. Example: 今天是五月三日。(Jīntiān shì wǔ yuè sān rì.) Today is May 3rd.
日 (rì) looks like a square window with one line across the middle. Picture the sun glowing in a box, and remember that one sun rising means one day has passed.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 日 (rì) with 目 (mù, eye), which has two inner lines instead of one, and with 曰 (yuē, to say), which is wider and shorter. Also note that in casual speech people say 号 (hào) for dates, as in 三号, while 日 is more formal and written.
日 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.
日 rì · sun · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 日.
Questions about 日
What does 日 mean?
日 (rì) means "(bound form) sun; day" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 日?
日 is made of 1 character: 日 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 日 an HSK word?
Yes. 日 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 日 and 天 for day?
天 (tiān) is the everyday spoken word for a day, as in 三天 (sān tiān, three days). 日 is used in fixed words and formal writing, such as 日期 (rìqī, date) and 星期日 (xīngqīrì, Sunday).
Why does 日 sometimes mean Japan, and is there a rude meaning?
日 is short for 日本 (Rìběn, Japan), so you will see it in words like 日语 (Rìyǔ, Japanese language). It also has a vulgar slang meaning of having sex, so avoid using it alone as a verb.