晷 (guǐ): a sundial

Meanings

1 a sundial
2 the shadow cast by the sun; time

Characters

晷

guǐ

sundial; sun's shadow

Examples

博物馆院子里有一座古日晷。

Bówùguǎn yuànzi lǐ yǒu yí zuò gǔ rìguǐ.

There is an ancient sundial in the museum courtyard.

他忙得焚膏继晷。

Tā máng de féngāojìguǐ.

He was so busy he had not a moment's leisure.

Tips

culture

晷 literally is the sun's shadow, so a 日晷 ('sun-shadow') is a sundial. By extension it means 'time', as in the idiom 焚膏继晷, 'burn oil to continue the daylight', i.e. to work day and night.

Components

radical

日 rì

sun

The sun 日 on top is doing real semantic work, a sundial measures time by the sun, and the word's core sense is 'the sun's shadow'.

phonetic

咎 jiù

fault; blame

咎 under the sun supplies the sound (shifted from jiù to guǐ); it adds no meaning, only the phonetic shape.

Stroke Order

晷 guǐ

Related Words

此时 cǐshí HSK 5 #5,181

now; at this moment; at this time / at that time (in narrative)

当 dāng HSK 2 #146

to be; to act as; to serve as / to manage; to take charge of / to withstand; to bear; to face / when; while; at the time of / ought to; should / to match; equal to / just at (a time or place); on the spot

过 guò HSK 1 #47

to cross; to go over; to pass through / to pass (time); to spend / to celebrate (a holiday) / to live; to get along / excessively; too-; over-

共度 gòngdù #4,741

to spend (time) together / to go through together

功夫 gōngfu HSK 3 #3,165

kung fu / skill / effort / time spent

赶上 gǎnshàng HSK 6 #3,161

to catch up with / to be in time for; to manage to catch / to happen to encounter

赶紧 gǎnjǐn HSK 3 #1,914

hurriedly; without delay / to lose no time in; quickly

创 chuàng HSK 7-9 #4,905

to create; to initiate; to found / to achieve (sth for the first time); to set (a record)

从前 cóngqián HSK 3 #4,659

formerly / once upon a time / in the past

从不 cóngbù HSK 6 #3,912

never / at no time