赏月 (shǎng yuè) — to admire the full moon (especially during Mid-…

Definition

A cultural activity of looking at and admiring the full moon, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节).

verb

to admire the full moon (especially during Mid-Autumn Festival)

赏月。
Wǒ men yì qǐ qù shǎng yuè ba.
Let's go admire the full moon together.
。
Zuó wǎn wǒ men shǎng le yí gè xiǎo shí de yuè.
Last night we admired the moon for an hour.
，赏月。
Zhōng qiū jié de shí hou, hěn duō rén dōu huì shǎng yuè.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, many people admire the full moon.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

“赏” (admire) and “月” (moon) combine to mean enjoy viewing the moon.

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 賞; 赏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèicowry

Sound part声符shēngfú

商

Same sound today

The traditional form 賞 pairs 商 for sound with 貝, a cowry shell; the simplified 赏 is a shorthand.

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.