Meaning of 除夕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- lunar New Year's Eve
How to use 除夕
除夕 refers to the last night of the lunar year, when families gather for a big reunion dinner called 年夜饭 (niányèfàn) and often stay up late. Example: 除夕晚上我们全家一起吃饺子。(Chúxī wǎnshang wǒmen quánjiā yìqǐ chī jiǎozi.) On New Year's Eve our whole family eats dumplings together.
除 (chú) means to remove, as in 消除 (xiāochú), and 夕 (xī) means evening. 除夕 is the evening that removes the old year, so it is the last night before the lunar New Year.
Common mistake: Learners often use 除夕 for December 31, but it only means the lunar New Year's Eve. For the solar calendar, say 新年前夜 (xīnnián qiányè) or 十二月三十一号. Also note 夕 is first tone xī, not xì.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
除 chú · to get rid of · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
夕 xī · evening · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 除夕.
| 除了 | chúle | apart from; besides; in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他，誰也沒來|除了他，谁也没来[chu2 le5 ta1 |
| 除非 | chúfēi | only if (..., or otherwise, ...); only when |
| 解除 | jiěchú | to remove; to sack |
| 消除 | xiāochú | to eliminate; to remove |
| 排除 | páichú | to eliminate; to remove |
| 拆除 | chāichú | to tear down; to demolish |
| 开除 | kāichú | to expel (a member of an organization); to fire (an employee) |
| 清除 | qīngchú | to clear away; to eliminate |
| 删除 | shānchú | to delete; to cancel |
| 除此之外 | chúcǐzhīwài | apart from this; in addition to this |
| 切除 | qiēchú | to excise; to cut out (a tumor) |
| 除去 | chúqù | to eliminate; to remove |
Questions about 除夕
What does 除夕 mean?
除夕 (chúxī) means "lunar New Year's Eve" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 除夕?
除夕 is made of 2 characters: 除 (9 strokes), 夕 (3 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 除夕 an HSK word?
Yes. 除夕 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 除夕 and 春节?
除夕 is the eve, the last day of the old lunar year. 春节 (Chūnjié) is the Spring Festival, which starts the next day, on the first day of the first lunar month.
What do people usually say or do on 除夕?
Families eat the reunion dinner, watch the Spring Festival Gala (春晚 Chūnwǎn), and stay up past midnight, which is called 守岁 (shǒusuì). People often greet each other with 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) or 过年好 (guònián hǎo).