日新月异 (rì xīn yuè yì)

Character breakdown

• 日 (Rì) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of the sun.

• 新 (Xīn) · 13 strokes

  Phonosemantic component. 辛 represents the sound, and 斤 (axe) and 木 (tree) represent the original meaning "firewood", now written as 薪. The meaning later shifted to "fresh" and "new".

• 月 (yuè) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of the moon.

• 异 (yì) · 6 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 廾 represents the meaning and 已 represents the sound. Simplified form of 異. Based on the original meaning "carry on the head", now written as 戴. The current meaning is a phonet…

Usage

科技发展日新月异。

daily renewal, monthly change (idiom); every day sees new developments; rapid progress

kē jì fā zhǎn rì xīn yuè yì 。