Definitions

(noun) evening; sunset

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "暮" has its origins in the character "莫", which pictorially represented the sun descending into grass or trees to depict dusk. As the character "莫" was borrowed extensively to function as a negative and indefinite pronoun, its original meaning of evening became obscured, prompting the creation of a dedicated form. To recover and specify the temporal meaning, an additional sun radical (日) was appended to the existing "莫", resulting in the compound character "暮" which visually emphasizes the setting sun. This character solidly retained its core meaning of evening or sunset, and from this concrete sense it naturally extended to convey metaphorical notions of lateness, decline, and conclusions, as in the evening of one's life or the end of an era.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

色很美丽

Mùsè hěn měilì

The dusk is very beautiful.

傍晚色沉沉

Bàngwǎn mùsè chénchén

The evening dusk is deep and heavy.

他喜欢色中的公园

Tā xǐhuān mùsè zhōng de gōngyuán

He likes the park in the dusk.

年生活要快乐

Mùnián shēnghuó yào kuàilè

Life in old age should be happy.

春时节花仍开

Mùchūn shíjié huā réng kāi

In late spring, flowers still bloom.

霭笼罩着山村

Mù'ǎi lǒngzhào zhe shāncūn

The evening mist envelops the mountain village.

他于年写下自传

Tā yú mùnián xiě xià zìzhuàn

He wrote his autobiography in his old age.

色苍茫中他独自归家

Mùsè cāngmáng zhōng tā dúzì guī jiā

Amidst the vast and hazy dusk, he returned home alone.