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愚人节 (yú rén jié) — April Fools' Day

Definition

noun
April Fools' Day

Examples

  • 愚人节，。
    Měi nián sì yuè yí rì shì yú rén jié, dà jiā huì hù xiāng kāi wán xiào.
    Every year April 1st is April Fools' Day, and people play jokes on each other.
  • 愚人节，。
    Tā zài yú rén jié nà tiān bèi péng you piàn le, dàn bìng méi yǒu shēng qì.
    He was tricked by friends on April Fools' Day, but he wasn't angry.
  • 愚人节，。
    yú rén jié De wán xiào yào shì dù, bù néng tài guò fèn.
    April Fools' Day pranks should be moderate and not go too far.

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.

愚人foolish person
愚yúfoolish人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
节jiéfestival

愚人 means foolish people, and 节 marks the festival dedicated to them.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú愚yú
Same sound today

愚 pairs 心 (heart) with 禺 for the sound; the heart part relates to the sense of foolishness.

Open 愚 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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 →
Appears in
Festivals & Holidays

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