Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 端午節 / 端午节 | Duānwǔjié |
| 端午 | Duānwǔ |
| 端陽節 / 端阳节 | Duānyángjié |
| 端陽 / 端阳 | Duānyáng |
| 龍船節 / 龙船节 | Lóngchuánjié |
| 龍舟節 / 龙舟节 | Lóngzhōujié |
This term refers to the traditional Chinese holiday. While 端午節 / 端午节 is the standard name for the holiday, you may also see references to the specific activities associated with it, such as 龍船節 / 龙船节 or 龍舟節 / 龙舟节, which focus on the dragon boat aspect.
What does it mean word for word?
The character 節 / 节 (jié) means 'festival' or 'holiday' and is appended to the name of the specific day to denote the entire celebration.
Which one should you use?
端午節 / 端午节 is the standard name for the holiday, whereas 端午 is a common shortened version used in conversation. Additionally, Lóngzhōujié (written as 龍舟節 / 龙舟节) literally means 'Dragon Boat Festival' and focuses on the activity, whereas Duānwǔjié is the formal name of the traditional holiday.
How do you pronounce it?
Duānwǔjié
When do people say it?
A common tradition during the Dragon Boat Festival is eating zòngzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves).
Did you know?
- Beyond racing and eating, traditional customs of 端午節 often involve hanging bundles of wormwood and calamus on doors to ward off evil and disease.
- The name 端午節 / 端午节 is actually a linguistic pun based on sound. Because the word for the fifth earthly branch, 午 (wǔ), sounded identical to the number 'five' in Middle Chinese, the festival became fixed on the fifth day of the fifth month.
- While English speakers call it the 'Dragon Boat Festival', the formal Chinese name 端午節 refers to a specific position in the traditional earthly branch calendar system.
Examples in context
- 端午節要賽龍舟。During the Dragon Boat Festival, there needs to be a dragon boat race.This sentence shows that the 端午 form can be used when talking about dragon boat races during the festival.Tatoeba #5687429 by xjjAstrus, translation #11371949 by ytc
- 端午節是紀念屈原的。The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates Qu Yuan.This sentence uses the 端午 form to explain that the festival commemorates Qu Yuan.Tatoeba #5687432 by xjjAstrus, translation #9419687 by BobbyLee
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dragon boat festival” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 端午, 端午節, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
