清明节 meaning in English
Qingming or Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day, celebration for the dead (in early April)
Meaning of 清明节
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- Qingming or Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day, celebration for the dead (in early April)
How to use 清明节
清明节 is a public holiday in early April when people sweep tombs, offer flowers or food, and remember the dead. It is often shortened to 清明 (Qīngmíng). Example: 清明节我们去给爷爷扫墓。(Qīngmíng Jié wǒmen qù gěi yéye sǎomù.) On Qingming Festival we go to sweep Grandpa's tomb.
清 (qīng) means clear or pure, 明 (míng) means bright, and 节 (jié) means festival. Picture a clear, bright spring day when families go out to tidy their ancestors' graves.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 清 (qīng) as 青 (qīng, green) or 晴 (qíng, sunny) because they sound alike. Only 清, with the water radical, is correct here. Also keep 明 in the second tone, not the fourth.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
清 qīng · clear · 11 strokes
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明 míng · bright · 8 strokes
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节 jié · joint · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 清明节.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 清楚 | qīngchu | clear; distinct |
| 节目 | jiémù | (TV or radio) program; show; item; act; segment; number (on the program of a concert, vari |
| 说明 | shuōmíng | to explain; to illustrate |
| 明星 | míngxīng | star; celebrity |
| 节日 | jiérì | holiday; festival |
| 音节 | yīnjié | syllable |
| 春节 | Chūnjié | Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) |
| 证明 | zhèngmíng | proof; certificate |
| 明显 | míngxiǎn | clear; distinct |
Questions about 清明节
What does 清明节 mean?
清明节 (Qīngmíng Jié) means "Qingming or Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day, celebration for the dead (in early April)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 清明节?
清明节 is made of 3 characters: 清 (11 strokes), 明 (8 strokes), 节 (5 strokes). That is 24 strokes in total.
Is 清明节 an HSK word?
Yes. 清明节 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 清明节 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 清明节 is written 清明節.
What do people do on Qingming Festival?
The main custom is 扫墓 (sǎomù), sweeping and tidying family graves. People also burn incense, offer food, and some go on spring outings called 踏青 (tàqīng).
Is it appropriate to say 清明节快乐 (happy Qingming Festival)?
Usually not, because it is a day for remembering the dead. Many people avoid 快乐 and say 清明安康 (Qīngmíng ānkāng), wishing peace and good health, instead.