除夕

Chúxī

noun HSK 5 #16,206

Meanings

1 lunar New Year's Eve
2 the evening before Chinese New Year

Characters

to remove; to get rid of

The evening of removal — the night when the old year is cast away to welcome the new.

Examples

除夕夜，全家人一起吃年夜饭。

Chúxīyè, quánjiārén yīqǐ chī niányèfàn.

On New Year's Eve, the whole family eats the reunion dinner together.

除夕晚上要放鞭炮。

Chúxī wǎnshàng yào fàngbiānpào.

Firecrackers are set off on New Year's Eve.

今年除夕你回家吗？

Jīnnián Chúxī nǐ huíjiā ma?

Are you going home for New Year's Eve this year?

除夕是中国最重要的节日之一。

Chúxī shì Zhōngguó zuì zhòngyào de jiérì zhīyī.

New Year's Eve is one of China's most important holidays.

Tips

culture

除夕 is the most important evening in Chinese culture. Families gather for 年夜饭 (niányèfàn, reunion dinner), watch the CCTV Spring Festival Gala (春晚), set off fireworks, and stay up until midnight (守岁 shǒusuì). Children receive red envelopes (红包) with money.

history

According to legend, 除 refers to driving away the monster 年 (Nián) that would come on this night. People used firecrackers, red decorations, and bright lights to scare it away.

Stroke Order

除 chú

夕 xī