节 (jié) is a Chinese character meaning “joint or segment (of bamboo, a plant, a limb)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “joint; festival”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 卩
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 2 笔卩 = 5 笔）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) growing above a kneeling figure (卩) — a stalk is divided into segments, and life is divided into festivals. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 春节chūn jiéSpring Festival; Chinese New Year节 = jié
- 节日jié rìfestival; holiday节 = jié
- 佳节jiā jiéa happy festival day节 = jié
- 圣诞节shèng dàn jiéChristmas节 = jié
- 季节jì jiéseason节 = jié
- 节目jié mùprogram; show; item on a program节 = jiéHSK 3
- 章节zhāng jiéchapters and sections; chapter节 = jié
- 节俭jié jiǎnthrifty; frugal; to economize节 = jié
- 节奏jié zòurhythm; tempo; pace节 = jié
- 节省jié shěngto economize; to save (money, time, effort)节 = jié
Go deeper
All readings
joint; festival
joint or segment (of bamboo, a plant, a limb); a festival or holiday; a section of something; to economize
植物或物体分段的地方；也指节日、段落，以及节省、节制。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 春节chūn jiéSpring Festival; Chinese New Year节 = jié
- 节日jié rìfestival; holiday节 = jié
- 佳节jiā jiéa happy festival day节 = jié
- 圣诞节shèng dàn jiéChristmas节 = jié
- 季节jì jiéseason节 = jié
- 节目jié mùprogram; show; item on a program节 = jiéHSK 3
- 章节zhāng jiéchapters and sections; chapter节 = jié
- 节俭jié jiǎnthrifty; frugal; to economize节 = jié
- 节奏jié zòurhythm; tempo; pace节 = jié
- 节省jié shěngto economize; to save (money, time, effort)节 = jié
Rare readings, not taught: jiē
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 节 mean?
节 (jié) means joint or segment (of bamboo, a plant, a limb); a festival or holiday; a section of something; to economize.
How do you pronounce 节?
It is pronounced jié.
What parts is 节 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 2 笔卩 = 5 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 节 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 节?
艹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 节?
Common ones are 春节 and 节日. The reading of 节 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.