HSK · Level 87
45 words
Chinese word
一天到晚
Pronunciation
Pinyinyī tiān dào wǎn
Meaning
- adverball day long
Example
他一天到晚上班，很少休息。tā yì tiān dào wǎn shàng bān hén shǎo xiū xī
He works all day long and rarely rests.
More examples
他一天到晚上网，很少和朋友见面。tā yì tiān dào wǎn shàng wǎng hén shǎo hé péng yǒu jiàn miàn
He goes online all day long and rarely sees his friends.
Core concept
The whole day is pictured as one continuous span in which an action or state keeps going, sometimes with an exaggerated edge.
Common phrases
一天到晚工作yì tiān dào wǎn gōng zuò
work all day long
一天到晚忙碌yì tiān dào wǎn máng lù
be busy all day long
一天到晚上网yì tiān dào wǎn shàng wǎng
go online all day long
Similar words
从早到晚cóng zǎo dào wǎn: From early morning to night, showing that something lasts across the whole day.
整天zhěng tiān: For the greater part of the day, focusing on how much of the day it takes up.
一直yì zhí: In an unbroken way, showing that an action or state keeps going.
Definition in Chinese
表示从早到晚某一动作或状态持续进行，常用于口语，往往带有夸张或抱怨的语气。biǎo shì cóng zǎo dào wǎn mǒu yí dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài chí xù jìn xíng cháng yòng yú kóu yǔ wáng wǎng dài yǒu kuā zhāng huò bào yuàn de yǔ qì
Word origin
一 (yī, "one") + 天 (tiān, "day") + 到 (dào, "until") + 晚 (wǎn, "night") literally traces a stretch from one day through to night, which gives the expression its extended-time meaning.
Usage tips
- As a conversational time adverb, it normally comes before the verb, and its broad time span often makes a complaint sound stronger without claiming a precise twenty-four-hour duration.