时间表
shíjiānbiǎo · HSK 7
timetable
📅⏰ 时间 (time) + 表 (table/chart) = a time-table; 表 also means form or schedule chart
Breaks into 时间 (shíjiān, time) plus 表 (biǎo, a table, chart, or form). So a 时间表 is literally a time-chart: the list that lays out when things happen. The same 表 shows up in 表格 (form) and 课程表 (class schedule).
时 — sun 日 + temple/measure 寺
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of time or season, while 寺 (shí) supplies the sound. Early forms used 之 as the phonetic before 寺 replaced it. The core sense 'season, time, hour' has stayed stable since ancient Chinese.
间 — gate 門 + sun 日 (originally moon 月)
Originally written 閒, showing the moon 月 shining through a gate 門 — the gap or space between the doors. The moon was later replaced by 日 (sun), giving the modern 间. The core meaning 'space/interval between' extended to time intervals, rooms, and the measure word for buildings.
表 — fur 毛 on top + garment 衣 below
Originally depicted an outer fur garment, with 毛 (fur) above 衣 (clothing), showing the hairy outside of a coat. From 'outer garment' it extended to mean 'outside, surface,' then 'to show, express, display,' and later 'table, chart' as something laid out on the surface.