大节 (dà jié) — major traditional holiday (e.g. Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival); political integrity; moral steadfastness in matters of principle; critical moment; important juncture

Definition

大节 has two distinct senses: 'major traditional holiday' (e.g. Spring Festival) and 'political integrity / steadfastness on matters of principle' (often paired with 大是大非). At critical moments it also means 'important juncture.'

noun
major traditional holiday (e.g. Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival)political integritymoral steadfastness in matters of principlecritical momentimportant juncture

Examples

  • 大节。
    Chūn jié shì zhōng guó zuì zhòng yào de chuán tǒng dà jié zhī yī.
    Spring Festival is one of China's most important traditional major holidays.
  • 大节，。
    Tā zài dà shì dà fēi miàn qián jiān shǒu dà jié, cóng bù tuǒ xié.
    He upholds his political integrity in matters of principle and never compromises.
  • ，。
    Zài dà dà jié shàng, wǒ men bù néng yǒu sī háo yóu yù.
    At critical moments, we cannot afford any hesitation.

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.

大dàgreat; major
节jiéfestival; integrity; juncture

大 means great or major, and 节 can mean festival, moral integrity, or critical juncture, giving a major holiday, steadfastness, or key moment.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺮Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
即
即jí節jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 節 pairs ⺮ (bamboo) with 即, which gives the sound; the bamboo part points to a node of bamboo. The simplified 节 is a later abbreviation.

Open 节 →

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