庆祝
qìngzhù · HSK 3
celebration
🎉 庆祝 = celebrate + congratulate; both characters mean 'celebrate'
庆 (qìng) means 'celebrate/congratulate' and 祝 (zhù) means 'wish/pray for blessings'. Together they reinforce each other to mean 'to celebrate'. The 礻radical in 祝 marks it as ritual/spirit-related.
祝 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 兄 (elder brother/person speaking)
Originally an oracle bone pictograph showing a person kneeling before an altar (示) with an open mouth, representing a priest reciting prayers or invocations. The meaning extended from 'invoke blessings' to the modern sense of 'wish' or 'congratulate'. The 示 component signals ritual/spirit, while 兄 contributes both meaning and sound.