祭奠
jì diàn · HSK 7
to hold or attend a memorial service
🕯️ 祭 sacrificial rite + 奠 libation offering = rites laid out for the dead
Both characters are about presenting offerings to ancestors. 祭 is the act of sacrifice or worship; 奠 is setting down food and drink as a libation. Together: holding a memorial and offering to the departed.
祭 — hand 又 holding meat 月 (肉) + altar 示
Originally a pictograph showing a hand (又) offering a piece of meat (月, from 肉) onto an altar (示), depicting a ritual sacrifice. The meaning extended from 'sacrifice' to 'ceremony' or 'festival'. As a surname read Zhài, it refers to an ancient state.