xià wǔ
afternoon
下午好
xiàwǔ hǎo
Good afternoon
下午三点
xiàwǔ sān diǎn
Three o'clock in the afternoon
下午我要去公园
xiàwǔ wǒ yào qù gōngyuán
I'm going to the park in the afternoon
午后 (wǔ hòu)
afternoon
下午茶 (xià wǔ chá)
afternoon tea
下半天 (xià bàn tiān)
afternoon
上午 (shàngwǔ)
morning
晚上 (wǎnshàng)
evening
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The Chinese word 下午 (xiàwǔ) is composed of two characters: 下 (xià), meaning "down," and 午 (wǔ), meaning "noon." Together, they literally mean "after noon," or "afternoon."The character 下 (xià) is a pictograph of a person descending from a ladder. It is also used in other words related to descending or going down, such as 下降 (xiàjiàng, "to descend"), 下楼 (xiàlóu, "to go downstairs"), and 下雨 (xiàyǔ, "to rain").The character 午 (wǔ) is a pictograph of a sun directly above the horizon. It is also used in other words related to noon or midday, such as 中午 (zhōngwǔ, "noon"), 午饭 (wǔfàn, "lunch"), and 午休 (wǔxiū, "afternoon nap").When combined, the characters 下 (xià) and 午 (wǔ) form the word 下午 (xiàwǔ), which means "afternoon." This word is used to refer to the time of day between noon and evening.
