About
The character "期" originally encapsulated the concept of a fixed temporal cycle, with its earliest form being "朞", a structure that combined the component for "moon" (月) with "其", which initially depicted a winnowing basket but here likely served a phonetic function to denote its pronunciation. This composition directly reflected its primary ancient meaning of a complete lunar cycle or a specified date. Over time, the character stabilized into its traditional form "期", retaining the "moon" component but pairing it with the more common "其", which gradually shifted the emphasis from a purely calendrical marker to a broader sense of an appointed or agreed-upon time. This semantic foundation naturally extended to encompass related notions of expectation and anticipation, as awaiting a set date implies a looking forward to its arrival, and further evolved to denote larger, measured spans of time such as phases, terms, or periods.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
今天是星期五。
我期待你的回复。
在此期间请保持安静。
项目的期限是下个月。
我们即将面临期末考试。
父母总是期望孩子成功。
长期合作需要相互信任。
这本期刊定期发表研究成果。