春天 (chūn tiān) literally combines 春 (chūn), meaning 'spring' as in the season or the concept of renewal, and 天 (tiān), meaning 'sky' or 'heaven' but here functioning as a general noun suffix that helps form time-related nouns like 冬天 (dōng tiān, winter) and 夏天 (xià tiān, summer). Together, they refer specifically to the spring season — the period between winter and summer, typically spanning March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s associated with warming weather, blooming flowers, returning birds, and agricultural beginnings.

In daily usage, 春天 appears in weather reports, poetry, holiday greetings (e.g., 春节 chūn jié, Spring Festival), and expressions of hope or freshness (e.g., 春天来了 — 'Spring has arrived!'). Unlike English, Chinese doesn’t use articles before seasons, so you say 我喜欢春天 (wǒ xǐ huān chūn tiān, 'I like spring'), not *the* spring. It’s neutral in register and appropriate in both spoken and written contexts.