晚

wǎn

免 + 日

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

wǎn (noun) evening; night

wǎn (adjective) late

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 日 represents the meaning and 免 represents the sound.

About

晚 is a phonosemantic compound consisting of 日 (sun) on the left, which grounds the character in the semantic field of time, the day's passage, and solar phenomena, and 免 on the right, a phonetic component that supplies the pronunciation without adding meaning. The original and primary sense designates the later part of the day: evening, sunset, or the time after the sun has set. From this concrete point in the daily cycle, the meaning expanded beyond the literal to apply to lateness in general, a delayed action, the advanced stages of human life, or the closing period of a season.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

晚上天黑了。

Wǎnshang tiān hēi le.

It gets dark in the evening.

妈妈晚点回来。

Māma wǎndiǎn huílái.

Mom will come back late.

他晚年很幸福。

Tā wǎnnián hěn xìngfú.

He is very happy in his old age.

电影晚上放映。

Diànyǐng wǎnshang fàngyìng.

The movie is shown in the evening.

晚会节目精彩。

Wǎnhuì jiémù jīngcǎi.

The evening party program is wonderful.

晚饭后我们散步。

Wǎnfàn hòu wǒmen sànbù.

After dinner, we take a walk.

晚霞染红了天空。

Wǎnxiá rǎnhóng le tiānkōng.

The sunset glow dyed the sky red.

晚年的生活要规划。

Wǎnnián de shēnghuó yào guīhuà.

Life in old age should be planned.

Related Characters

Component: 免

Component: 日

晚