节假日 (jié jià rì) — public holiday | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A compound for official public holidays (like National Day, Labor Day) — broader than 节日 (a specific festival) and more formal than 假期 (vacation, which can be personal time off).

noun

public holiday

Measure word · 个

Examples

节假日。
Jīn nián jié jià rì wǒ men qù hǎi nán lǚ xíng le.
This holiday we went to Hainan for a trip.
节假日。
Hěn duō shāng diàn zài jié jià rì de shí hou dǎ zhé.
Many stores have sales during public holidays.
节假日。
jié jià rì Qī jiān yào zhù yì jiāo tōng ān quán.
During holidays, pay attention to traffic safety.

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.

节假festivals and holidays

节jiéfestival假jiǎholiday

联合Coordinate

日rìday

节 gives festivals, 假 gives holidays, and 日 gives days, giving public holiday days.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

⺮即節

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻叚假

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

叚

叚jiǎ假jiǎ

Same sound today

假 pairs 亻 (person) with 叚, which gives the sound jiǎ.

Open 假 →

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