春节 (chūn jié) — Chinese New Year / Spring Festival (the most important traditional Chinese holiday, based on the lunar calendar)

Definition

Spring Festival / Chinese New Year, the most important traditional holiday in China, based on the lunar calendar. Often shortened to 过年 in everyday speech, which is the colloquial 'celebrate the New Year' phrasing you'll hear most often.

noun
Chinese New Year / Spring Festival (the most important traditional Chinese holiday, based on the lunar calendar)

Examples

  • 春节，。
    Měi nián chūn jié, wǒ men quán jiā dōu huì jù zài yì qǐ chī nián yè fàn.
    Every Spring Festival, our whole family gets together for the New Year's Eve dinner.
  • 春节，，。
    chūn jié Qī jiān, rén men huì zǒu qīn fǎng yǒu, hù xiāng bài nián.
    During the Spring Festival, people visit relatives and friends to exchange New Year's greetings.
  • 春节，。
    chūn jié Shì zhōng guó rén zuì kàn zhòng de jié rì, bǐ guó qìng jié hái rè nao.
    The Spring Festival is the most important holiday for Chinese people, even more lively than National Day.

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.

春chūnspring
节jiéfestival

春 points to spring, while 节 marks a festival.

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
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 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.