节 (jié): festival; holiday

Meanings

1 festival; holiday
2 section; segment
3 measure word for classes/periods

Characters

节

jié

festival; section; joint; to save

Examples

今天有三节课。

Jīntiān yǒu sān jié kè.

There are three classes today.

春节是中国最重要的节日。

Chūnjié shì Zhōngguó zuì zhòngyào de jiérì.

Spring Festival is China's most important holiday.

Tips

usage

As a measure word, 节 counts class periods: 一节课 (one class period), 两节数学课 (two math classes). As part of words: 节日 (holiday), 节目 (program/show), 节约 (to save/conserve).

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (radical form)

Top grass radical — the indexing radical. Traditional 節 was 'bamboo joint' (with 竹 on top), and the simplified 节 keeps the plant association via 艹. The bamboo-joint imagery still drives the modern senses: 节日 (segment of the year = festival), 一节课 (one section of class), 关节 (joint).

phonetic

卩 jié

kneeling figure (here phonetic)

Bottom 卩 — depicts a kneeling person. Supplies the sound jié exactly. Also hints visually at the 'bent joint' image (knee bend = node), reinforcing the segment/joint meaning even though its primary job here is phonetic.