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新春 (xīn chūn) — the Lunar New Year period (first 10–20 days of the new lunar year); the beginning of spring / new year (with festive connotations)

Definition

新春 specifically marks the festive Lunar New Year period (first ∼20 days), tied to the 春节 holiday. 新年 is the broader 'New Year' (solar or lunar); 正月 names the lunar month itself, not the festive season.

noun
the Lunar New Year period (first 10–20 days of the new lunar year)the beginning of spring / new year (with festive connotations)

Examples

  • 新春，！
    Zhù nín xīn chūn kuài lè, wàn shì rú yì!
    Wish you a happy Lunar New Year and all the best!
  • 新春，。
    xīn chūn Qī jiān, jiā jiā hù hù dōu tiē chūn lián.
    During the Lunar New Year period, every household pastes up spring couplets.
  • 新春。
    Tā men jì huà zài xīn chūn qù nán fāng lǚ xíng.
    They plan to travel south during the Lunar New Year period.

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.

新xīnnew
春chūnspring

The freshness of 新 with 春 marks the festive Lunar New Year period.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún春chūn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

春 combines 艸 (grass) and 日 (sun) with 屯, which supplies the sound and is described as a swollen sprout.

Open 春 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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