May 35th

proper noun

The anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre on the fourth of June, known in China as the June Fourth Incident.

OriginChinese 5月35日 →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. euphemisticThe anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre on the fourth of June, known in China as the June Fourth Incident.

    This is known within China, to the people who know about it, as the June Fourth Incident. More recently it has been referred to covertly as May 35th.

    2009 June 4, Shih-Chieh Ilya Li, “Today in China, May 35th”, in Pah, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2009

Origin

  1. Chinese5月35日
  2. EnglishMay 35th

Calque of Chinese 5月35日; a euphemistic form of June 4th, as though May (which has 31 days) had been lengthened to include it.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

May 35th. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/May%2035th

MLA

“May 35th.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/May%2035th. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “May 35th,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/May%2035th.

Source: May 35th on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.