节欲 (jié yù) — to practice abstinence; to be ascetic; to contr…

Definition

A formal, written verb meaning to deliberately restrain or suppress one's desires, especially for health, moral, or spiritual reasons. It is a separable verb (离合词): 节…欲, often used in fixed phrases like 节欲修行.

verb

to practice abstinenceto be asceticto control one's desires

Examples

，。
Tā jié le yí gè yuè de yù, gǎn jué shēn xīn dōu qīng sōng le.
He practiced abstinence for a month and felt both physically and mentally lighter.
节欲。
Hěn duō rén dōu rèn wéi jié yù shì xiū xíng de yí bù fen.
Many people consider abstinence to be part of spiritual practice.
，节欲。
Wèi le jiàn kāng, tā jué dìng jié yù yí duàn shí jiān.
For his health, he decided to abstain for a period of time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

节jiécontrol

欲yùdesire

节 (control) acts on 欲 (desire), meaning to restrain one's wants.

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.

谷欠欲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiàn

Sound part声符shēngfú

谷

谷gǔ欲yù

Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Open 欲 →

Appears in