Meaning
Japan; day; sun; date; day of the month
Chinese: 太阳、日子。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “ri” becomes a different word in each tone. 日 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 生日shēng rìbirthday
- 日期rì qīdate
- 日子rì ziday; a (calendar) date; days of one's life
- 节日jié rìholiday; festival
- 日报rì bàodaily newspaper
Example Sentence
今天是十月一日。Jīn tiān shì shí yuè yī rì.Today is October first.
今天Jīn tiāntoday是shìis十月shí yuèOctober一yīone日rì(bound form) sun。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of the sun: originally a circle with a dot in the centre, later squared off so it could be written with a brush. It means ‘sun’ and, by extension, ‘day’.
A way to remember it
A box with one line inside — the sun with a mark at its core.