日
nichi
One sun becomes a date and a country's name
The picture A round bright sun climbs from the east, crosses the sky, and goes down in the west. 日 is the sun that lights the day and counts days; 月 is the moon that lights the night and counts months.
Where the picture shows up in 日
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the sun in the sky
カーテンを閉めてください、日が強いです。
kāten o shimete kudasai, hi ga tsuyoi desu
Please close the curtain, the sun is strong.
Light through the gap lays a white rectangle on the desk and makes you squint
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one box the sun has crossed
今日は何日ですか。
kyō wa nan-nichi desu ka
What's the date today?
A finger taps along the calendar squares one by one, hunting for today
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those boxes in an unbroken row
薬は毎日飲んでください。
kusuri wa mainichi nonde kudasai
Please take the medicine every day.
A pill sits in every compartment of the box, lined up to the very end
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the sun day of the week
日曜日は休みます。
nichiyōbi wa yasumimasu
We're closed on Sunday.
One square of the calendar is stamped with the sun character and painted red
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the country where the sun rises
日本語で話してもいいですか。
nihongo de hanashite mo ii desu ka
May I speak in Japanese?
A hand points out past the sea to where the sun is coming up, and names that country
日本 is 'the root of the sun': the side where the sun rises.
All of it in one picture
日 is one sun rising and setting. Let it through a window and it is glaring sunlight; count one rise and set as a single box and it becomes the 日 of a date. String those boxes together without a break and you get 毎日, every day; stamp the name on the first box of the week and you get 日曜日, Sunday; point at the country where the sun comes up first and you get 日本, Japan. Date or country, the same sun is behind it.