Definitions

yào bright; glorious; one of the seven planets of premodern astronomy

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and 耀 represents the sound.

About

The character "曜" is structured with the sun radical "日" on the left and the component "翟" on the right, where "翟" functions phonetically and semantically, alluding to the bright feathers of a pheasant and thus reinforcing the concept of light. Its etymology points to an original meaning of sunlight or the act of shining. Over time, the character's application extended to encompass luminous celestial bodies, notably in the classical Chinese term "七曜" which referred to the seven bright objects in the sky. In modern usage, it continues to denote brightness and radiance, while also being employed in linguistic contexts such as in Japanese for the names of the weekdays.

Etymology Hide

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

今天是日日。

Jīntiān shì rìyàorì.

Today is Sunday.

一周有七个日。

Yī zhōu yǒu qī gè yàorì.

There are seven days in a week.

石是一种黑色宝石。

Hēiyàoshí shì yī zhǒng hēisè bǎoshí.

Obsidian is a black gemstone.

日的顺序是固定的。

Yàorì de shùnxù shì gùdìng de.

The order of the days of the week is fixed.

这颗宝石具有美丽的彩。

Zhè kē bǎoshí jùyǒu měilì de yàocǎi.

This gemstone has beautiful iridescence.

望远镜能观测遥远的星。

Wàngyuǎnjìng néng guāncè yáoyuǎn de yàoxīng.

The telescope can observe distant shining stars.

湖面上闪烁着淡淡的辉。

Húmiàn shàng shǎnshuò zhe dàndàn de yàohuī.

The lake surface glimmers with a faint shine.

古代文明常赋予灵神话色彩。

Gǔdài wénmíng cháng fùyǔ yàolíng shénhuà sècǎi.

Ancient civilizations often imbued shining celestial beings with mythological attributes.