龙舟 (龍舟)
lóng zhōu
Pinyin

Definition

龙舟 (龍舟)
 - 
lóng zhōu
  1. dragon boat
  2. imperial boat

Character Decomposition

Related Words (17)

方舟
fāng zhōu
  1. 1 ark
泛舟
fàn zhōu
  1. 1 to go boating
破釜沉舟
pò fǔ chén zhōu
  1. 1 lit. to break the cauldrons and sink the boats (idiom); fig. to cut off one's means of retreat
  2. 2 to burn one's boats
舟
zhōu
  1. 1 boat
舟山
Zhōu shān
  1. 1 Zhoushan prefecture level city in Zhejiang (consisting solely of islands)
  2. 2 formerly Dinghai 定海

Idioms (10)

刻舟求剑
kè zhōu qiú jiàn
  1. 1 lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances
同舟共济
tóng zhōu gòng jì
  1. 1 cross a river in the same boat (idiom); fig. having common interests
  2. 2 obliged to collaborate towards common goals
吴越同舟
Wú Yuè tóng zhōu
  1. 1 Wu and Yue in the same boat (idiom); fig. cooperation between natural rivals
  2. 2 to collaborate towards a common end
  3. 3 in the same boat together
学海泛舟
xué hǎi fàn zhōu
  1. 1 sailing on the sea of learning (idiom)
木已成舟
mù yǐ chéng zhōu
  1. 1 lit. the timber has been turned into a boat already (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. what is done cannot be undone

Sample Sentences

书上记载说，古代人们为了祛除病疫，在每年的农历五月初五以龙舟竞渡的形式举行部落的图腾祭祀，人们把这一天定为端午节。
shū shàng jìzǎi shuō ，gǔdài rénmen wèile qūchú bìngyì ，zài měinián de nónglì wǔyuè chūwǔ yǐ Lóngzhōu jìngdù de xíngshì jǔxíng bùluò de túténg jìsì ，rénmen bǎ zhè yī tiān dìng wéi duānwǔjié 。
The books say that to ward off epidemics every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month people in ancient times would hold tribal totemic ceremonies in the form of racing in dragon boats, and people set this day as Duanwu Festival.
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那为什么不叫龙舟节或者初五节呢，这个端午二字又是怎么来的呢？
nà wèishénme bù jiào Lóngzhōu jié huò zhě chūwǔ jié ne ，zhè ge duānwǔ èr zì yòu shì zěnme lái de ne ？
So why is it not called Dragon Boat Festival in Chinese too, or Chuwu Festival, indicating the fifth day of the month, what is the origin of the characters "Duanwu" (端午)?
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后来因为纪念屈原，才有了吃粽子、划龙舟这些习俗。
hòulái yīnwèi jìniàn Qū Yuán ，cái yǒu le chī zòngzi 、huá Lóngzhōu zhèxiē xísú 。
It was only till later on, to commemorate Qu Yuan, that we started to have the custom of eating sticky rice dumplings and row dragon boats.
Go to Lesson 
龙舟的前面为什么是龙，不是别的动物呢？最重要的原因是，中国人认为龙代表吉祥，而且龙是掌管气候和水的，所以在河上纪念屈原、祈求平安的活动当然要用“龙舟”。
Lóngzhōu de qiánmian wèishénme shì lóng ，búshì biéde dòngwù ne ？zuì zhòngyào de yuányīn shì ，Zhōngguórén rènwéi lóng dàibiǎo jíxiáng ，érqiě lóng shì zhǎngguǎn qìhòu hé shuǐ de ，suǒyǐ zài hé shàng jìniàn Qū Yuán 、qíqiú píng ān de huódòng dāngrán yào yòng “Lóngzhōu ”。
Why is there a dragon at the front of a dragon boat and not another animal? The most important reason is that Chinese people consider dragons as a sign of good luck, and dragons were known to be in charge of weather and water. So it is only natural that we select "dragon boats", as we commemorate Qu Yuan on rivers and pray for safe tidings.
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划龙舟太累了，我们吃粽子吧。
huá Lóngzhōu tài lèi le ，wǒmen chī zòngzi ba 。
Rowing a dragon boat is exhausting. Let's eat zòngzi.
Go to Lesson 
吃粽子，划龙舟。
chī zòngzi ，huá Lóngzhōu 。
Eat zòngzi and row dragon boats.
Go to Lesson