Sentence #8293438 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 下午 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
下xiàdown
一one · yī
卜divination · bǔ
Memory aidA short stroke below the line: down, below.
午wǔ7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
丿slash · piě
干dry · gān
Memory aidDrawn from a pestle. It was borrowed for the hour around noon, as in 中午 (zhōngwǔ) “midday”.
How to write 下午
下 3 strokes · 午 4 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 下午 (xiàwǔ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
下午 (xiàwǔ) means “afternoon” or “p.m.”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it xiàwǔ: xià with a 4th tone, then wǔ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 下午 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one afternoon is 一个下午 (yí ge xiàwǔ).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xiawu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 下午 from the suggestions. Typing xiawu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
下午 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Turn words into conversations
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
下xià4th tone, falling
午wǔ3rd tone, dipping
