Definitions

shuò beginning; first day of lunar month; north

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 朔 (shuò) signifies the new moon or the first day of the lunar month. Its structure combines the component 屰 (nì), meaning "to go against" or "inverted", with the lunar radical 月 (yuè) for "moon" or "month". This pairing originally denoted the point in the lunar cycle when the moon's light is hidden, marking the start of a new waxing phase, a key temporal marker for agricultural and societal planning. Beyond its astronomical meaning, 朔 also extended to denote the direction north, often appearing in geographical terms and classical texts to describe cold northern winds or territories, thus linking the year's starting point with the northern quadrant.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Warring States (~250 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 Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Xin dynasty (9-23 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

今天是农历日。

Jīntiān shì nónglì shuò rì.

Today is the first day of the lunar month.

今天的风很大。

Jīntiān de shuòfēng hěn dà.

Today's north wind is very strong.

月之夜很黑暗。

Shuòyuè zhī yè hěn hēi'àn.

The night of the new moon is very dark.

他在方地区工作。

Tā zài shuòfāng dìqū gōngzuò.

He works in the northern region.

每年日,我们都去祭祖。

Měi nián shuò rì, wǒmen dōu qù jìzǔ.

Every year on the first day of the lunar month, we go to worship our ancestors.

气寒冷,人们都穿厚衣服。

Shuòqì hánlěng, rénmen dōu chuān hòu yīfu.

The northern air is cold, so people wear thick clothes.

望月是月球绕地球公转的周期。

Shuòwàng yuè shì yuèqiú rào dìqiú gōngzhuǎn de zhōuqī.

The synodic month is the period of the moon's revolution around the earth.

光初现,预示着新月的开始。

Shuòguāng chū xiàn, yùshì zhe xīnyuè de kāishǐ.

The first light of the new moon appears, indicating the start of the new lunar month.