旭日
xù rì · HSK 7
sun
🌅 旭 = 九 (nine) + 日 (sun) → dawn light; 日 = sun, so 旭日 = the rising sun
旭 packs 九 (nine) above 日 (sun), an old character for first light breaking over the horizon. Pair it with 日 (sun) and 旭日 names the sun as it climbs at daybreak. The reading xù rì stacks the two even tones, falling then high.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.