星期
xīngqí · HSK 1
week
📅 星 = star + 期 = period; literally 'star period' = week
星 (xīng) means star, 期 (qī) means period or scheduled time. Together they name the seven-day cycle. 星期日 or 星期天 specifically marks Sunday, the first listed day in the weekly count.
期 — 其 (phonetic) + 月 (moon/time)
期 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 月 (moon) signals meaning, since lunar cycles marked fixed time periods in ancient China. The left side 其 supplies the sound. Together it points to a set time, period, or appointed date — meanings still carried today in words like 期间 and 日期.