年三十
nián sān shí
Pinyin

Definition

年三十
 - 
nián sān shí
  1. last day of the lunar year
  2. Chinese New Year's Eve

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

Sān
  1. 1 surname San
jīn nián
  1. 1 this year
shí
  1. 1 ten
  2. 2 10
Nián
  1. 1 surname Nian
bài nián
  1. 1 to pay a New Year call
  2. 2 to wish sb a Happy New Year
xīn nián
  1. 1 New Year
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
guò nián
  1. 1 to celebrate the Chinese New Year
lóng nián
  1. 1 Year of the Dragon (e.g. 2000, 2012, etc)
Sān yà
  1. 1 Sanya prefecture level city, Hainan
sān shí
  1. 1 thirty
  2. 2 30
Sān xiá
  1. 1 Three Gorges on the Chang Jiang or Yangtze, namely: Qutang Gorge 瞿塘峽|瞿塘峡[Qú táng Xiá], Wuxia Gorge 巫峽|巫峡[Wū Xiá] and Xiling Gorge 西陵峽|西陵峡[Xī líng Xiá]
  2. 2 Sanxia or Sanhsia town in New Taipei City 新北市[Xīn běi shì], Taiwan
Sān xīng
  1. 1 Sanxing or Sanhsing township in Yilan county 宜蘭縣|宜兰县[Yí lán xiàn], Taiwan
  2. 2 Samsung (South Korean electronics company)
sān gēng bàn yè
  1. 1 in the depth of the night
  2. 2 very late at night
Sān yuè
  1. 1 March
  2. 2 third month (of the lunar year)
sān jiǎo
  1. 1 triangle
zhōng nián
  1. 1 middle age
èr shí
  1. 1 twenty
  2. 2 20
èr shí duō
  1. 1 over 20
wǔ shí
  1. 1 fifty
lái nián
  1. 1 next year
  2. 2 the coming year

Idioms (20)

一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
  1. 1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
  1. 1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (idiom)
一传十,十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
  1. 1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
  2. 2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
  1. 1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
  2. 2 to throw a tantrum
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一年之计在于春
yī nián zhī jì zài yú chūn
  1. 1 the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom)
  2. 2 early planning is the key to success
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一日三秋
yī rì sān qiū
  1. 1 a single day apart seems like three seasons (idiom)
一日不见,如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一暴十寒
yī pù shí hán
  1. 1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
  2. 2 sporadic effort
  3. 3 short attention span
一曝十寒
yī pù shí hán
  1. 1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
  2. 2 sporadic effort
  3. 3 lack of sticking power
  4. 4 short attention span
一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
  2. 2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
一板三眼
yī bǎn sān yǎn
  1. 1 lit. one strong beat and three weak beats in a measure of music (four beats in the bar) (idiom); fig. scrupulous attention to detail
一目十行
yī mù shí háng
  1. 1 ten lines at a glance (idiom)
  2. 2 to read very rapidly
三七二十一
sān qī èr shí yī
  1. 1 three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
  2. 2 the facts of the matter
  3. 3 the actual situation
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
  1. 1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
  1. 1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
  1. 1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三人行,必有我师
sān rén xíng , bì yǒu wǒ shī
  1. 1 lit. if three walk together, one can be my teacher (idiom, from the Analects of Confucius)
  2. 2 you have sth to learn from everyone
三令五申
sān lìng wǔ shēn
  1. 1 to order again and again (idiom)

Sample Sentences

肯定是要呆在家里吃这个年夜饭的。因为大年三十是一个团圆夜,所以一家团聚在一起吃饭,意义是非常重大的。
kěndìng shì yào dāi zài jiālǐ chī zhège niányèfàn de 。yīnwèi dànián sānshí shì yī ge tuányuán yè ,suǒyǐ yī jiā tuánjù zàiyīqǐ chīfàn ,yìyì shì fēicháng zhòngdà de 。
We definitely stay at home to have New Year's dinner. Because New Year's eve is a night for getting together, so it's very important for a family to get together to eat.
比如说你是大年三十出生的,然后到了初一的时候,就是第二天,你已经两岁了。其实你才一天。
bǐrú shuō nǐ shì dànián sānshí chūshēng de ,ránhòu dào le chūyī de shíhou ,jiùshì dì èr tiān ,nǐ yǐjīng liǎng suì le 。qíshí nǐ cái yī tiān 。
For example, if you're born on the last day of the Chinese lunar year, and then on the first day of the Chinese lunar year, it's only the next day, but you're already two years old. In reality, you're only one day old.
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年三十去爷爷家,年初一去外公家。
nián sānshí qù yéye jiā ,nián chūyī qù wàigōng jiā 。
On the day before Chinese New Year we'll go to your paternal grandpa's house, and on New Year's Day we'll go to your maternal grandpa's house.
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民间传说是为了在年三十晚上赶走一个专门害小孩子的妖怪。长辈给晚辈压岁钱呢,就是送护身符,保平安。后来就变成了新年的习俗,讨个吉利。“发”压岁钱的人呢,来年就能行大运,发大财!而且最好都是新钱,钞票的号码还要相连,表示“连连高升”!
mínjiān chuánshuō shì wèile zài niánsānshí wǎnshang gǎnzǒu yī ge zhuānmén hài xiǎoháizi de yāoguài 。zhǎngbèi gěi wǎnbèi yāsuìqián ne ,jiùshì sòng hùshēnfú ,bǎo píng ān 。hòulái jiù biànchéng le xīnnián de xísú ,tǎo ge jílì 。“fā ”yāsuìqián de rén ne ,láinián jiù néng xíngdàyùn ,fādàcái !érqiě zuìhǎo dōu shì xīn qián ,chāopiào de hàomǎ hái yào xiānglián ,biǎoshì “liánliángāoshēng ”!
A folk legend says that it's to scare off a monster that harms little children on the last day before the Lunar New Year. The older generation gives money to the younger generation as a way of protecting them. Later on, it became a New Year custom, something auspicious. People who give out money will be very lucky, and they'll get rich. And it's best if it's new money. The numbers on the money should be in sequence, to show ``getting higher all the time."
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