夏天
xiàtiān/ɕi̯ä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
In Mandarin, summer is expressed as 夏天 (xiàtiān). Wiktionary also lists щятян (xiatian) and 熱天 /热天 (joa̍h-thiⁿ).
Meaning: hottest season (noun)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| щятян | xiatian | Dungan | |
| 熱天 /热天 | joa̍h-thiⁿ | Hokkien | |
| 熱儂 /热侬 | joa̍h–lâng | Hokkien | |
| 夏季 | xiàjì | /ɕi̯ä⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /haː²² kʷɐi̯³³/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) /ha⁵⁵ ku̯i⁵⁵/ (Hakka, Sixian, Miaoli, Neipu, Sinological IPA) /ha³³ kui¹¹/ (Hakka, Hailu, Zhudong, Sinological IPA) /ha²²⁻²¹ kui²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /ha⁴¹⁻²² kui⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /ha³³⁻¹¹ kui¹¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) /ha³³⁻²¹ kui²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) /hɛ²²⁻²¹ kui²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA) /he²²⁻²¹ kui²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA) /he⁴¹⁻²² kui⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɑɻ⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Erhua, Sinological IPA) /ɕia⁵¹ tʰiæ̃²⁴/ (Mandarin, Dungan, Sinological IPA) /haː²² tʰiːn⁵⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) /ha³² tʰin²¹³/ (Cantonese, Dongguan, Sinological IPA, Guancheng) /ha⁵⁵ tʰi̯en²⁴/ (Hakka, Sixian, Miaoli, Neipu, Sinological IPA) /ha⁵³ tʰiɛn⁴⁴/ (Hakka, Meixian, Sinological IPA) /he⁴¹⁻²² tʰĩ³³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan, variant, Sinological IPA) /he³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan, variant, Sinological IPA, Taipei) /he³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan, variant, Sinological IPA, Kaohsiung) /he²²⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taiwan, variant, Sinological IPA) /ha³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Kinmen, Penang, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) /ha³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Kinmen, Penang, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) /ha²¹ tʰĩ³³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Kinmen, Penang, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) /ha²²⁻¹² tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Kinmen, Penang, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) /hɛ²²⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA) /he¹¹ tʰĩ³³/ (Min Nan, Teochew, Sinological IPA) /ɦo²² tʰi⁴⁴/ (Wu, Northern, Shanghai, Sinological IPA) /ɦo²² tʰɪ³³/ (Wu, Northern, Suzhou, Sinological IPA) /ɕi̯a̠²¹⁻¹¹ tʰi̯ẽ³³/ (Xiang, Changsha, Sinological IPA) |
The term refers to the hottest season of the year. When you wish to describe specific actions related to the season, you might use the verbs 消夏 to mean spending or enjoying the summer or 避暑 specifically to mean escaping the heat by going to a cooler location like a mountain resort.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 夏天 is composed of 夏 (summer) and 天 (day, sky or season).
Which one should you use?
夏天 is the common, everyday way to say summer. In contrast, 夏季 is a more formal or technical term, frequently used in academic contexts or weather reports to mean the summer season.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term щятян is used in Dungan, while 熱天 or 热天 and 熱儂 or 热侬 are used in Hokkien.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is xiàtiān. The IPA is /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/.
Did you know?
- The character for summer 夏 originally depicted a person dancing with a ritual staff and a shield. It was meant to represent a great dance or festival that occurred during the hottest part of the year.
- The character 夏 (xià) is also used to refer to the ancient 'Xia Dynasty', which is considered the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography.
- The Dungan word щятян is a fascinating linguistic hybrid where a Mandarin word for summer is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
Examples in context
- 夏天过去了。The summer is over.This sentence is useful for saying that 夏天 has passed.Tatoeba #7774794 by jiangche, translation #24342 by CK
- 我不喜欢夏天。I don't like summer.This sentence is useful for expressing a dislike for 夏天.Tatoeba #1700146 by sadhen, translation #252224 by CK
- 日本的夏天很热。It is very hot in the summer in Japan.This sentence is useful for describing how hot it is during the 夏天 in Japan.Tatoeba #2030729 by ydcok, translation #1588669 by CM
- 96 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their travel plans.
- 伟 Wei夏天你有什么计划吗？xiàtiān nǐ yǒu shénme jìhuà ma?Do you have any plans for summer?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我打算去旅游。wǒ dǎsuàn qù lǚyóu.I plan to go traveling.
- 伟 Wei晓雯，你想去哪里？xiǎowén, nǐ xiǎng qù nǎlǐ?Xiaowen, where do you want to go?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我想去北京。wǒ xiǎng qù Běijīng.I want to go to Beijing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “summer” translations and entries 夏季, 夏天, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
