guònián: 过年 - To celebrate the New Year, To pass the New Year

Keywords: 过年, guonian, guo nian, celebrate Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year traditions, Spring Festival, what is guonian, meaning of guonian, pass the new year, Lunar New Year.

Summary: 过年 (guònián) is the essential Chinese verb for “to celebrate the Chinese New Year,” also known as the Spring Festival. It encompasses the entire period of festivities, from the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival fifteen days later. More than just a date, 过年 describes the act of participating in traditions, reuniting with family, and marking the passage from the old lunar year to the new. It is the most important cultural event in the Chinese-speaking world, a time of renewal, feasting, and honoring ancestors.

Pinyin (with tone marks): guònián

Part of Speech: Verb-Object Phrase (过 is the verb, 年 is the object)

HSK Level: HSK 3

Concise Definition: To celebrate the Chinese New Year; to live through the New Year period.

In a Nutshell: “过年” is the action of experiencing and celebrating the Chinese New Year. The character “过” (guò) means “to pass” or “to cross over,” while “年” (nián) means “year.” So, it literally means “to pass the year.” This phrase captures the feeling of a transition—leaving behind the troubles of the past year and moving into a fresh, hopeful one. It's not just a party; it's a fundamental, annual cultural ritual.

过 (guò): This character means “to pass,” “to cross,” or “to go through.” The radical 辶 (chuò) is related to walking or movement, reinforcing the idea of transition.

年 (nián): This character means “year.” Ancient forms of the character are thought to depict a person carrying harvested grain, signifying the completion of an annual agricultural cycle.

Combined Meaning: Together, “过年” (guònián) literally means “to pass the year.” This perfectly describes the function of the holiday: it's a major milestone that you “cross over” to get to the new year. Culturally, it also ties into the legend of a monster named “年” (Nian) that would attack villages. People would set off firecrackers and hang red decorations to scare it away, thus “passing over” the threat of the monster, which is another interpretation of “过年”.

The Heart of Chinese Culture: 过年 is the cultural and emotional centerpiece of the year. It's the engine that drives the world's largest annual human migration, known as 春运 (chūnyùn), where hundreds of millions of people travel back to their hometowns to be with family. The central value is family reunion (团圆 tuányuán), and being absent from the New Year's Eve dinner (年夜饭 niányèfàn) is a significant, often sad, event.

Comparison to Christmas/Thanksgiving: For a Western audience, 过年 can be understood as a combination of Christmas and Thanksgiving, but amplified. Like Christmas, it has a festive, magical atmosphere with special decorations (red lanterns, couplets) and gift-giving (red envelopes). Like Thanksgiving, it centers on a massive feast and the theme of returning home. However, 过年 is unique in its duration (15 days), its connection to the lunar calendar, and its specific rituals like honoring ancestors, warding off evil spirits, and the immense social pressure to return home.

Related Values: The holiday is a powerful expression of filial piety (孝顺 xiàoshùn), as adult children are expected to spend time with and honor their parents and elders. It's also steeped in wishes for prosperity, luck, and good fortune (福 fú) for the coming year, reflected in everything from the food served to the decorations hung on the door.

A Greeting: During the festival period, you can greet people with “过年好!” (Guònián hǎo!), which means “Happy New Year!” or literally “New Year Good!” It's slightly more informal and warm than the more common “新年快乐” (Xīnnián kuàilè).

On Social Media: The term is ubiquitous online. People post photos of their family dinners, holiday travels, and festive outfits with hashtags like #过年啦 (#guòniánla - “It's New Year time!”) or #回家过年 (#huíjiāguònián - “Going home for New Year”).

Business Context: Companies will announce their holiday schedule by saying something like: “我们公司从…到…放假过年。” (Wǒmen gōngsī cóng… dào… fàngjià guònián.) - “Our company will be on holiday for the New Year from… to…”

春节 (chūnjié) - The official, formal name for the holiday, meaning “Spring Festival.” 过年 is the more colloquial and common verb for celebrating it.

除夕 (chúxī) - Chinese New Year's Eve, the day of the most important family reunion dinner.

年夜饭 (niányèfàn) - The grand reunion dinner held on New Year's Eve.

拜年 (bàinián) - The tradition of visiting relatives and friends to exchange New Year's greetings, usually in the first few days of the new year.

红包 (hóngbāo) - Red envelopes containing money, typically given by elders to children and by bosses to employees.

春运 (chūnyùn) - “Spring Transportation,” the massive travel rush before, during, and after the Spring Festival.

守岁 (shǒusuì) - The tradition of staying up late on New Year's Eve to “guard the year” and welcome the new one.

年味 (niánwèi) - The “flavor of the year”; the special festive atmosphere and feeling associated with 过年.

元旦 (yuándàn) - The Gregorian New Year (January 1st), a separate and much less significant holiday.

团圆 (tuányuán) - Reunion. This concept of family togetherness is the core emotional pillar of 过年.