淡季 (dàn jì) — off season; slow season (for tourism or busines… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

淡季 is the 'off season' / 'slow season' — the opposite of 旺季 (peak season), when business or tourism drops.

noun

off seasonslow season (for tourism or business)

Examples

淡季。
Hěn duō jǐng qū zài dàn jì huì guān bì bù fen shè shī.
Many scenic areas close some facilities during the off season.
淡季。
Nóng yè dàn jì shí nóng mín huì chū qù dǎ gōng zhuàn qián.
During the agricultural off season, farmers go out to work and earn money.
淡季。
Jiǔ diàn zài dàn jì de fáng jià zhǐ yǒu wàng jì de yí bàn.
Hotel room rates in the off season are only half of those in peak season.

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.

季jìseason

淡 means weak or slow and 季 means season; together they name a slow season.

Characters in this word

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

氵炎淡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

炎

炎yán淡dàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

淡 puts 氵 (water) beside 炎, which gives the sound yán.

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

禾子季

禾禾hé
子子zǐ

季 is formed by placing 禾 above 子.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6

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