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正月 (Zhēng yuè) — first month of the Chinese lunar calendar (includes Spring Festival and Lantern Festival)

Definition

正月 (Zhēngyuè) names the entire first month of the Chinese lunar calendar — the period itself, not a single holiday. 新春 emphasizes the festive start, while 元旦 is January 1st on the solar/Gregorian calendar.

noun
first month of the Chinese lunar calendar (includes Spring Festival and Lantern Festival)

Examples

  • 正月。
    Zhēng yuè Lǐ yǒu hěn duō chuán tǒng huó dòng.
    There are many traditional activities during the first lunar month.
  • 正月。
    Wǒ men Zhēng yuè chū yī qù bài nián.
    We go to pay New Year visits on the first day of the first lunar month.
  • 正月。
    Zhēng yuè Shí wǔ de yuè liang tè bié yuán.
    The moon is especially full on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

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.

正zhèngfirst
月yuèmonth

正 here means first and 月 is month, so 正月 is the first month of the lunar year.

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
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

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

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

Open 月 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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