Sinograph Addenda · Signs

dawn

Name	dawn
Reads	dàn
Means	dawn, daybreak
Taught in	03 · The master says

Where it comes from

Your sun 日 just clear of the horizon line 一: daybreak, drawn. The classics date mornings by it — 旦日, “the next morning.” Taught in the master’s chapter.

How to remember it

The sun sitting on the horizon — dawn. One line lower and it would still be night.

In the wild

信誓旦旦，不思其反。xìn shì dàn dàn, bù sī qí fǎn"your oaths were dawn-bright, over and over — I never thought you would turn" — the Songs' jilted lover, doubling 旦 for emphasis

Classic of Songs (Shijing), "Meng". urn:nabu:kanripo:KR1c0001:005:27a · license: attribution.