Meaning
除夕 refers to the last evening of the lunar year, the night before Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). It is the most important night of the year for family reunions in Chinese culture. Families gather for a lavish dinner called 年夜饭 (niányèfàn), watch the CCTV New Year's Gala, and stay up late to welcome the new year.
Usage
除夕 is used specifically for the eve of the Lunar New Year, not regular New Year's Eve (which would be 元旦前夕). Native speakers commonly talk about 除夕夜 (chú xī yè, New Year's Eve night) and planning 除夕团圆饭 (family reunion dinner). It's a formal but everyday term during the Spring Festival season.
Examples
- 01除夕晚上全家人聚在一起吃年夜饭。.On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers together to eat the reunion dinner.
- 02今年除夕我们打算回老家过年。.This New Year's Eve, we plan to return to our hometown to celebrate the New Year.
Characters
Measure words
- 个这个除夕
Common collocations
- 除夕夜New Year's Eve night
- 除夕团圆饭New Year's Eve reunion dinner
- 过除夕to celebrate New Year's Eve
- 除夕之夜on the night of New Year's Eve
Origin
除 means 'to remove' or 'to pass away,' and 夕 means 'evening.' Together, 除夕 literally means 'the evening when the old year is removed,' marking the transition from one lunar year to the next.