鬼节 (guǐ jiē) — Ghost Festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month)

Definition

A traditional Chinese festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, when people honor deceased ancestors and wandering spirits. Similar to 中元节, which is a more formal/religious name for the same occasion.

noun
Ghost Festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month)

Examples

  • 鬼节。
    Měi nián nóng lì qī yuè shí wǔ shì guǐ jiē.
    The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th of the seventh lunar month every year.
  • 鬼节，。
    guǐ jiē Nà tiān, hěn duō rén huì shāo zhǐ qián jì zǔ.
    On the Ghost Festival, many people burn paper money to honor their ancestors.
  • 鬼节，。
    Guān yú guǐ jiē de chuán shuō yǒu hěn duō, gè dì xí sú yě bù yí yàng.
    There are many legends about the Ghost Festival, and customs vary from place to place.

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.

鬼guǐghost
节jiéfestival

鬼 ghost and 节 festival combine to name the Ghost Festival.

Characters in this word

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

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →

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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