日 (rì) is a Chinese character meaning “sun”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 一 (one), one enclosing the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “sun; day”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 一
Enclosing structure
Structure from: makemeahanzi dictionary modern decomposition candidate (⿴口一), verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 0,1,3 close the 口 frame; stroke 2 is the 一 inside)
Memory aid
A closed frame (口) with one line (一) drawn across the middle: a bright window in the sky. That is the sun — and one turn of it is a day.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 生日shēng rìbirthday日 = rìHSK 1
- 日出rì chūsunrise日 = rì
- 日记rì jìdiary; journal日 = rì
- 旭日xù rìthe rising sun; the morning sun日 = rì
- 旭日东升xù rì dōng shēngthe morning sun rises in the east — a hopeful new beginning日 = rì
- 昔日xī rìformer days; in the past日 = rì
- 末日mò rìthe last day; doomsday日 = rì
- 节日jié rìfestival; holiday日 = rì
- 向日葵xiàng rì kuísunflower日 = rì
- 昨日zuó rìyesterday (more formal or written)日 = rì
Go deeper
All readings
sun; day
sun; daytime; day; daily
太阳；白天；一昼夜的时间。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 生日shēng rìbirthday日 = rìHSK 1
- 日出rì chūsunrise日 = rì
- 日记rì jìdiary; journal日 = rì
- 旭日xù rìthe rising sun; the morning sun日 = rì
- 旭日东升xù rì dōng shēngthe morning sun rises in the east — a hopeful new beginning日 = rì
- 昔日xī rìformer days; in the past日 = rì
- 末日mò rìthe last day; doomsday日 = rì
- 节日jié rìfestival; holiday日 = rì
- 向日葵xiàng rì kuísunflower日 = rì
- 昨日zuó rìyesterday (more formal or written)日 = rì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 日 mean?
日 (rì) means sun; daytime; day; daily.
How do you pronounce 日?
It is pronounced rì.
What parts is 日 made of?
口 (mouth) and 一 (one), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: makemeahanzi dictionary modern decomposition candidate (⿴口一), verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry (strokes 0,1,3 close the 口 frame; stroke 2 is the 一 inside). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 日 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 日?
日. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 日?
Common ones are 生日 and 日出. The reading of 日 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.