What does 日 mean in Chinese?

日 (rì) means "day, sun" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 日?

日 is written with 4 strokes, starting from the 日 (sun) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 日?

The radical of 日 is 日 (sun, Kangxi radical #72). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 时, 明, 是, 春.

How many strokes does 日 have?

The Chinese character 日 has 4 strokes.

What HSK level is 日?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 日 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

日 (rì): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

日

rì

day, sun

HSK 1 character 4 strokes Radical: 日 (sun)

Quick Answer

日 (rì) means "day, sun" with 4 strokes, radical 日 (sun), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 日 →Animated stroke-order for 日 →

Pronunciation

rì

Meaning

Primary: day

Other meanings:

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

日 is one of the clearest pictographs in the Chinese writing system. The oracle bone form is a circle or oval containing a dot or short line in the middle, depicting the sun with a mark inside to distinguish it from a plain circle. Bronze inscriptions preserve the same round outline with a central dot.

Form evolution

The rounded oracle bone and bronze forms were gradually squared off in seal script, where the outline became a rectangular enclosure with a horizontal stroke inside. Clerical script finalised the straight-sided rectangle, and modern楷书 retained this as four strokes: two verticals, two horizontals, with the middle stroke representing what was once the central dot.

How the meaning evolved

The original meaning 'sun' extended naturally to 'day' (one rotation of the sun) in very early texts, and both senses coexist today. Further extensions produced 'daytime,' 'daily,' and specific dates. In modern Mandarin, 日 on its own tends to feel literary or formal; 天 is more common for 'day' in speech, while 日 survives in compounds like 日期 (date) and 生日 (birthday).

Cultural note

日 appears as a radical in a huge family of time-related and light-related characters: 明 (bright), 早 (early), 晚 (late), 时 (time), 春 (spring). In Japanese, 日本 literally means 'origin of the sun,' and the same two characters give us the name 'Japan' via a Hokkien-era pronunciation.

Mnemonic

The sun as a box of light — day, sun

Basic info

Pinyin	rì
Meanings	day, sun
Stroke count	4 strokes
Radical	日 (#72: sun)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#134 most common

Example sentences

今天是星期日。
Jīntiān shì xīngqīrì.
Today is Sunday.
From 日 (HSK 1)
生日快乐！
Shēngrì kuàilè!
Happy birthday!
From 生日 (HSK 2)
春节是重要节日。
Chūnjié shì zhòngyào jiérì.
Spring Festival is an important festival.
From 节日 (HSK 3)

Words containing 日

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
日	rì	day, sun	HSK 1
生日	shēngrì	birthday	HSK 2
节日	jiérì	festival	HSK 3
日记	rìjì	diary	HSK 4
日程	rìchéng	schedule	HSK 7-9
日历	rìlì	calendar	HSK 5
日用品	rìyòngpǐn	Daily Necessities	HSK 5
日常	rìcháng	daily	HSK 4
日期	rìqī	Date	HSK 4
日子	rìzi	life, days	HSK 4
不可终日	bùkězhōngrì	be in constant anxiety
次日	cìrì	next day, the following day	HSK 7-9

Related characters

Don't confuse with

月

日 (rì) ≠ 月 (yuè), month

目

日 (rì) ≠ 目

Share the 日 (sun) radical

时shí 明míng 是shì 春chūn 早晚易星

See all characters with the 日 radical →

Similar meaning (time)

时time 明tomorrow 期年year 初at first 今today 候春spring

On the new HSK 1 exam

Studying for HSK 1? Keep 日 with the rest of your level.

HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.

Start studying free The words new HSK 1 adds

Frequently Asked Questions

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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.