Definition
日月 literally means 'sun and moon', but is more often used metaphorically to refer to 'time' or 'days' — much like 'day and night' in English. In literary or formal contexts, it can also mean 'life' or 'livelihood' (as in 'earning a living'). The compounds 日月如梭 ('time flies like a shuttle') and 日月星辰 ('the sun, moon, and stars') are common. The classical glosses 'saints and sages' and 'emperor and empress' are rare and usually occur only in poetic parallels.
n.
sun and moontimedayslifelivelihood
Examples
- 日月，。rì yuè rú suō, zhuǎnyǎn yòu shì yì nián.Time flies like a shuttle — another year has passed in a blink.
- 日月，。Nóngmín kào rì yuè guòhuó, shōucheng hǎo huài quán kàn tiān.Farmers make their livelihood by the sun and moon — the harvest depends entirely on the weather.
- 日月。Gǔrén cháng yǐ rì yuè bǐyù guāngmíng yǔ hēi'àn.Ancient people often used the sun and moon as a metaphor for light and darkness.
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