破五

pòwǔ

noun

Meanings

1 fifth day of Chinese New Year
2 'Breaking Five'

Characters

Examples

破五那天北方人要吃饺子。

Pòwǔ nà tiān běifāng rén yào chī jiǎozi.

Northerners eat dumplings on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

破五之前很多禁忌都不能犯。

Pòwǔ zhīqián hěn duō jìnjì dōu bù néng fàn.

Many taboos must be observed before the fifth day.

店铺一般破五之后才开张。

Diànpù yībān pòwǔ zhīhòu cái kāizhāng.

Shops usually reopen only after the fifth day.

Tips

culture

破 ('break') refers to breaking the New Year taboos that applied during the first four days (no sweeping, no taking out trash, no breaking dishes). On 破五 people set off firecrackers to welcome 财神 (the God of Wealth) and eat dumplings.

Stroke Order

破 pò

五 wǔ