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蜜月 (mì yuè) — honeymoon

Definition

A set term meaning 'honeymoon' — the vacation a newlywed couple takes right after the wedding, used as a noun or with the verb 度 (度蜜月, to go on a honeymoon).

noun
honeymoon

Examples

  • 蜜月？
    Nǐ men dǎ suàn shén me shí hou qù dù mì yuè?
    When do you plan to go on your honeymoon?
  • 蜜月。
    Tā men de mì yuè fēi cháng xìng fú.
    Their honeymoon was very happy.
  • ，蜜月。
    Wǒ xià ge yuè jié hūn, rán hòu qù ōu zhōu dù mì yuè.
    I'm getting married next month and then going to Europe for my honeymoon.

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.

蜜mìhoney
月yuèmonth

蜜 means honey and 月 means month, picturing a sweet month after a wedding.

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
虫虫chónginsect
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì蜜mì
Same sound today

蜜 is built from 虫, an insect, and 宓, which gives the sound.

Open 蜜 →

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 7-9Romance & Marriage5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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