昼 (zhòu): daytime
昼 (zhòu) is a Chinese character meaning “daytime.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 尺 (structural) and 旦 (structural). It ranks #2526 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 昼 when the sun is a foot 尺 above the horizon 旦. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 早 (zǎo, early, morning), 时 (shí, time, hour).
Definitions
- daytime
Etymology & Origin
ideographicWhen the sun is a foot 尺 above the horizon 旦
Decomposition: ⿵尺旦 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 昼 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昼夜noun | zhòu yè | day and night |
| 白昼noun | bái zhòu | daytime |
| 昼夜平分点noun | zhòu yè píng fēn diǎn | the equinox |
| 不分昼夜 | bù fēn zhòu yè | day and night |
| 昼行性 | zhòu xíng xìng | diurnality |
| 昼夜节律noun | zhòu yè jié lǜ | circadian rhythm |
| 昼伏夜出verb | zhòu fú yè chū | nocturnal |
| 夜行昼伏 | yè xíng zhòu fú | to travel at night and lie low by day (idiom) |
| 俾昼作夜 | bǐ zhòu zuò yè | to make day as night (idiom, from Book of Songs) |
| 俾夜作昼 | bǐ yè zuò zhòu | lit. to make night as day (idiom) |
| 极昼 | jí zhòu | polar day |
| 卜昼卜夜 | bǔ zhòu bǔ yè | day and night (to toil, to abandon oneself to pleasure etc) |
昼 appears in 12 compound words: 42 as the first character, 25 as the last, and 33 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 昼 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
昼夜交替,四季轮回。
Zhòuyè jiāotì, sìjì lúnhuí.
Day and night alternate, seasons cycle.
按照这个比例,一次完整的昼夜循环 需要 144 分钟 ,也就是略多于 2 小时。
àn zhào zhè gè bǐ lì , yī cì wán zhěng de zhòu yè xún huán xū yāo 1 4 4 fēn zhōng , yě jiù shì lüè duō yú 2 xiǎo shí .
Based on this ratio, a complete day-night cycle takes 144 minutes, or slightly more than 2 hours.
处暑昼夜温差变大,早晚微凉,可适当温补,而龙眼偏温性,有益心脾,能补气血。
chǔ shǔ zhòu yè wēn chā biàn dà , zǎo wǎn wēi liáng , kě shì dāng wēn bǔ , ér lóng yǎn piān wēn xìng , yǒu yì xīn pí , néng bǔ qì xiě .
During the "End of Heat" solar term, the temperature difference between day and night widens, and it feels slightly cool in the mornings and evenings. This is a good time to take mildly warming tonics; longan, which has a warm nature, benefits the heart and spleen and helps replenish qi and blood.
顺丰无人车已在深圳实现昼夜常态化规模化运营
shùn fēng wú rén chē yǐ zài shēn zhèn shí xiàn zhòu yè cháng tài huà guī mó huà yùn yíng
SF Express’s autonomous vehicles have achieved routine, large-scale, round-the-clock operations in Shenzhen
夏季夜间气温高、昼长夜短,这些天气特点更容易干扰睡眠。
xià jì yè jiān qì wēn gāo , zhòu cháng yè duǎn , zhè xiē tiān qì tè diǎn gēng róng yì gān rǎo shuì mián .
In the summer, nighttime temperatures are high and days are long while nights are short; these weather conditions can more easily disrupt sleep.
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这段时间昼夜温差很大。
Zhè duàn shíjiān zhòuyè wēnchā hěn dà.
There is a large temperature difference between day and night during this period of time.
你这样不分昼夜地工作,将会伤害自己的健康。
Nǐ zhèyàng bùfēnzhòuyè de gōngzuò, jiānghuì shānghài zìjǐ de jiànkāng.
If you work day and night, you will lose your health.
春天白昼变长了。
Chūntiān báizhòu biàn cháng le.
In spring the days get longer.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 昼 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 昼 with real-time feedback
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