hūn lǐ
wedding
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我参加了朋友的婚礼。
wǒ cānjiāle péngyǒu de hūnli.
I attended my friend's wedding.
婚礼在教堂举行。
hūnli zài jiàotáng jǔxíng.
The wedding was held in a church.
婚礼很热闹，宾客们都很开心。
hūnli hěn rènao, bīnkèmen dōu hěn kāixīn.
The wedding was very lively, and the guests were all very happy.
婚宴 (hūnyàn)
wedding banquet
结婚典礼 (jiéhūn diǎnlǐ)
wedding ceremony
丧礼 (sàng lǐ)
funeral
离婚 (lí hūn)
divorce
The Chinese word 婚礼 (hūnlǐ) for "wedding" is a compound of two characters: 婚 (hūn) and 礼 (lǐ). The character 婚 originally meant "to marry" or "to take a wife", and it is composed of the radical 女 (nǚ), which represents a woman, and the character昏 (hūn), which means "dusk" or "twilight". This suggests that marriage was originally seen as a union that took place at dusk, when the day was ending and the night was beginning. The character 礼 (lǐ) means "ritual" or "ceremony", and it is composed of the radical 示 (shì), which represents an altar or a sacrifice, and the character 豊 (fēng), which means "abundant" or "plentiful". This suggests that marriage was seen as a sacred and important ritual that brought abundance and prosperity to the couple and their families. Thus, the word 婚礼 (hūnlǐ) literally means "marriage ceremony" and refers to the traditional rituals and customs associated with marriage in Chinese culture.
