七曜 (qīyào): the seven luminaries (Sun, Moon…

Meanings

1 the seven luminaries (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)
2 the seven heavenly bodies of premodern astronomy

Characters

七

to shine / heavenly body

Examples

古人用七曜来纪日。

Gǔrén yòng qīyào lái jì rì.

The ancients used the seven luminaries to mark the days.

日本的星期名称就来源于七曜。

Rìběn de xīngqī míngchēng jiù láiyuán yú qīyào.

Japan's day-of-the-week names derive from the seven luminaries.

Tips

culture

The 七曜 system entered East Asia from Babylonian/Hellenistic astronomy via India. Japanese weekday names still preserve it directly: 日曜日 (Sunday), 月曜日 (Monday), 火曜日 (Tuesday/Mars), 水曜日 (Wednesday/Mercury), etc.

history

First systematically introduced to China in the Tang dynasty through Buddhist astronomical texts like 七曜攘灾决 (Qīyào Rǎngzāi Jué). Influenced fortune-telling and the 七曜历 calendar.