日 出 而 作，日 入 而 息

rì chū ér zuò , rì rù ér xīdictionary entry

lit. to get up at sunrise and work until sunset (proverb) / fig. to lead a plain and hardworking life

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-79153fe83486b9ad. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

日出而作，日入而息 日出而作，日入而息 [ri4 chu1 er2 zuo4 , ri4 ru4 er2 xi1] /lit. to get up at sunrise and work until sunset (proverb)/fig. to lead a plain and hardworking life/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

日
rì
(bound form) sun / day / day of the month / (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Rì běn]) / (vulgar) to fuck / to have sex with
出
chū
to go out / to come out / to arise / to occur / to produce / to yield / to go beyond / to exceed / (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result) / classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc
而
ér
and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)
作
zuō
(bound form) worker / (bound form) workshop / (slang) troublesome / high-maintenance (person)
zuò
to do / to engage in / to write / to compose / to pretend / to feign / to regard as / to consider to be / to be / to act the part of / to feel (itchy, nauseous etc) / writings / works
日
rì
(bound form) sun / day / day of the month / (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Rì běn]) / (vulgar) to fuck / to have sex with
入
rù
to enter / to go into / to join / to become a member of / (bound form) to conform to (as in 入時|入时[rù shí]) / abbr. for 入聲|入声[rù shēng] / (on product packaging, after {number n} + {classifier}) containing (n pieces) (from Japanese 入 "iri")
而
ér
and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)
息
xī
(bound form) breath / (bound form) to cease / to stop / (bound form) to rest / (bound form) news / (bound form) interest (on money) / (bound form) to grow / to multiply / (literary) one's child / Taiwan pr. [xí]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.