日 rì — sun, day · English

日

rì

sun, day

At a glance · 日

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

日字甲骨文作圆形中有一点，象太阳之形；金文、小篆圆转方正，隶变后作扁方形『日』，楷体承之。

What the sketch shows

Shuowen Jiezi

人質切。實也。太陽之精不虧。从囗一。象形。凡日之屬皆从日。。古文。象形。。

— 《说文解字》

Origins & notes

日本义为太阳，引申为白昼与一昼夜。

Structure

日为象形字，描摹太阳轮廓，中间一点或横表示太阳本体。

At a glance

Pinyinrì

Radical日

Strokes4

UnicodeU+65E5

Character type象形

Theme天文

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English sun, day Ri is a pictograph of the sun and means both the sun and a day.

Français soleil, jour Ri est un pictogramme du soleil et signifie à la fois le soleil et un jour.

Español sol, día Ri es un pictograma del sol y significa tanto el sol como un día.

العربية شمس، يوم ري رسم تخطيطي للشمس ويعني الشمس ويوماً.

Русский солнце, день Жи — пиктограмма солнца, означает и солнце, и день.

Common words

太阳tài yángsun
日期rì qīdate
日子rì ziday

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