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除夕 (Chú xī) — lunar New Year's Eve

Definition

除夕 is specifically the eve of the lunar New Year, the last day before 春节. 前夕 is the general word for 'the eve of' any day or event, so it can substitute only in non-Lunar contexts.

noun
lunar New Year's Eve

Examples

  • 除夕，。
    Měi nián Chú xī, wǒ men jiā dōu huì yì qǐ chī tuán yuán fàn.
    Every year on New Year's Eve, our family eats a reunion dinner together.
  • 除夕。
    Chú xī Wǎn shàng de diàn shì jié mù fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
    The TV programs on New Year's Eve are very enjoyable.
  • 除夕，。
    Chú xī Shì nóng lì nián de zuì hòu yì tiān, dì èr tiān jiù shì chūn jié.
    New Year's Eve is the last day of the lunar year, and the next day is the Spring Festival.

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.

除chúremove
夕xīevening

除 removes the old year; 夕 is the evening.

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

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

夕 was drawn as a crescent moon.

Open 夕 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Chinese Culture & CustomsFestivals & Holidays

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