喜宴 (xǐ yàn) — wedding banquet

Definition

noun
wedding banquet
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 喜宴，。
    Wǒ men cān jiā le péng you de xǐ yàn, chǎng miàn fēi cháng rè nao.
    We attended our friend's wedding banquet; the scene was very lively.
  • 喜宴，。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ diàn de xǐ yàn cài sè hěn fēng fù, dà jiā dōu chī dé hěn kāi xīn.
    The wedding banquet at this hotel has a rich variety of dishes, and everyone enjoyed the meal.
  • 喜宴。
    xǐ yàn Tōng cháng huì zài hūn lǐ yí shì zhī hòu jǔ xíng.
    The wedding banquet is usually held after the wedding ceremony.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

喜xǐjoy
宴yànbanquet

喜 (joy) combines with 宴 (banquet) to mean a celebratory wedding banquet.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

喜 combines 壴, a drum, with 口, a mouth.

Open 喜 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
妟
妟yàn宴
Same sound today

宴 has 宀, a roof, above 妟, which shows a woman and the sun. 妟 also supplies the sound, and the whole shape pictures a woman under a roof with sunlight.

Open 宴 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.