下午

Etymology · 词源

“下”的历史构形可以这样理解：历史字形不能按现代笔画机械拆解。这些部件的作用依据历史字形判断，不等同于今天看到的任意笔画组合。 “午”的历史构形可以这样理解：早期字形以图像方式表达意义。这些部件的作用依据历史字形判断，不等同于今天看到的任意笔画组合。 以上是各字的历史构形说明；“下午”作为现代词语时，应结合完整词义学习，不能把单字意义机械相加。

Originally a small line or dot below a longer line, indicating "down". The vertical line was added to distinguish the character from 二 (two). Pictograph of a pestle used for pounding rice, now written as 杵. The current meaning "noon" is a phonetic loan. These notes explain the characters’ formation. Learn 下午 as a complete modern word rather than mechanically adding isolated character meanings.

Learning note · 学习提示：形旁通常提示意义范围，声旁通常提示较早的读音；现代普通话读音或字义可能已经发生变化。