下周
xià zhoū · HSK 2
next week
📅 下周 = below/next (下) + week (周)
下 means 'below' or 'next' in time sequences (next week, next month), and 周 means 'week'. The same 下 appears in 下次 (next time) and 下个月 (next month).
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.
周 — enclosure 囗 + 吉 (earth 土 + mouth 口)
Originally a pictograph of a field with grain plotted in rows, suggesting density and completeness. It came to mean 'all around,' 'circumference,' and 'complete,' later extending to 'week' (a full cycle). Also a major surname, famously the Zhou dynasty.