昼 zhòu daytime
daytime; daylight
How to remember 昼: 尺 ruler + 旦 dawn = daytime. The girl lays a ruler on the windowsill at dawn to measure the shadow, and watches it shrink as night turns to daytime.
Component breakdown
昼 = 尺 ruler + 旦 dawn
- 尺 ruler
- 旦 dawn
The girl lays a ruler on the windowsill at dawn to measure the shadow, and watches it shrink as night turns to daytime.
How it is used
- Daytime - the literary counterpart to 夜 (yè, night), chiefly in 昼夜 (zhòuyè), day and night: 昼夜不停 (zhòuyè bù tíng) round the clock.
- In plain speech you say 白天 (báitiān) for daytime, not 昼.