Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhè gè jié wǒ xiǎng zài jiā gēn jiārén yìqǐ chīfàn. - On this holiday I want to eat at home with my family.

Here 节 (jié) is short for 节日 (jiérì) and means “festival / holiday”, as in a special day like Spring Festival, Mid‑Autumn Festival, Christmas, etc.

节 has a few common uses:

As part of words like “festival / holiday”
- 节日 — holiday, festival
- 节假日 — holidays and days off
  In those, 节 carries the idea of a special “occasion” or “festival.”
As a measure word for class periods / segments
- 一节课 — one class period
- 上两节课 — have two classes

In your sentence, 节 is not a measure word but a noun, meaning “festival/holiday,” and 个 is the measure word in front of it: 一个节 = one festival/holiday. So 这个节 = “this holiday / this festival.”

Why do we need 个 in 这个节? Could we just say 这节?

In everyday speech, both are possible:

这个节 — very natural, especially in spoken Mandarin
这节 — also acceptable; a bit more compact, often in spoken Chinese

个 is the general, very common measure word. The full pattern is:

这 + 个 + [noun] → 这个节 / 这个人 / 这个地方

When the noun is short and very common, speakers often drop the measure word in fast speech, so 这节 appears as a shortened form.

For a learner, it’s safe to always say 这个节; you’ll sound completely natural.

Why does the sentence start with 这个节? In English we usually start with “I”: I want to… this holiday.

Chinese often uses “topic–comment” structure:

[Topic] + [Comment about that topic]

Here:

Topic: 这个节 (“as for this holiday…”)
Comment: 我想在家跟家人一起吃饭 (“I want to eat at home with my family.”)

So the structure is roughly: > As for this holiday, I want to eat at home with my family.

Starting with time expressions is also very common in Chinese:

明天我去北京。— Tomorrow I go to Beijing.
下周他要出差。— Next week he will go on a business trip.

You could also say:

我这个节想在家跟家人一起吃饭。

That is also grammatical, but putting 这个节 at the very front is extremely natural.

What’s the nuance of 想 here? Could I say 要 or 希望 instead?

In this sentence:

我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。

想 (xiǎng) means “want to / would like to” — a wish or inclination, not very forceful.

Comparison:

想 – “would like to, feel like”
- 我这个节想在家跟家人一起吃饭。
  I’d like to spend this holiday at home eating with my family.
  Soft, about your personal desire.
要 – “intend to, going to, must (sometimes)”
- 我这个节要在家跟家人一起吃饭。
  I’m going to / I plan to spend this holiday at home with my family.
  Sounds more decided, sometimes stronger or more determined.
希望 – “hope (that something happens)”
- 我希望这个节在家跟家人一起吃饭。
  I hope (that) this holiday I can be at home eating with my family.
  Emphasizes hoping for a situation that might not be fully in your control.

In your original sentence, 想 is perfect: it expresses what you’d like to do this holiday.

Why do we need 在 before 家? Can I just say 我想家跟家人一起吃饭?

You need 在 (zài) here because it marks a location:

在家 = “(to be) at home / (do something) at home”

Basic pattern:

在 + place + [do something]

Examples:

我在学校学习。— I study at school.
她在北京工作。— She works in Beijing.
他们在公园散步。— They take a walk in the park.

So:

我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。
I want to eat at home with my family.

我想家跟家人一起吃饭 is ungrammatical because without 在, 家 just looks like another noun (“home”) rather than a place phrase (“at home”).

What’s the difference between 在家, 回家, and 家里?

They’re related but not the same:

在家 — “at home”
- Focus: location
- 我在家工作。— I work at home.
- 这个节我想在家吃饭。— This holiday I want to eat at home.
回家 — “go home” / “return home”
- Focus: movement back to home
- 我下班以后回家。— I go home after work.
- 过年你要回家吗？— Are you going home for New Year?
家里 — “at home / in the house” (literally “inside home”)
- Very close to 在家, often interchangeable:
  - 我家里没人。≈ 我在家（里）没人。— There’s no one at my home.
- With 在: 在家里 makes the “inside” feeling a bit stronger, but in many situations 在家 and 在家里 are interchangeable.

In your sentence, 在家 is the most natural choice.

Why is it 跟家人? Could I say 和家人 instead, and what’s the difference?

Both 跟 and 和 can mean “with” in this kind of sentence:

跟家人一起吃饭
和家人一起吃饭

Both are correct and very natural.

General tendencies:

跟 (gēn) is slightly more colloquial and often used for “together with / along with / follow”:
- 我跟朋友去看电影。— I’m going to the movies with my friend.
和 (hé) is neutral and common in both spoken and written language:
- 我和家人吃饭。— I eat with my family.

Here there is no real difference in meaning; most native speakers would accept either. The original uses 跟, which fits casual spoken style.

Why is there no 的 in 跟家人一起吃饭? Why not 跟我的家人一起吃饭?

Chinese often drops possessives like 我(的) when the owner is obvious from context, especially with close family members and body parts.

家人 already strongly implies “one’s own family members” in most contexts.
Since the subject is 我, speakers will naturally understand 家人 as “my family (members).”

So:

跟家人一起吃饭 is normally understood as “eat with my family.”
跟我的家人一起吃饭 is also correct but can sound more explicit / contrastive, for example if you want to stress my family vs your family.

For neutral “I’ll eat with my family,” 跟家人一起吃饭 is the most natural.

Where should 一起 go in the sentence? Could I move it to a different position?

In your sentence:

我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。

一起 (yìqǐ) should be placed just before the verb it modifies — here, 吃饭:

我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。 ✅

Other common, natural positions:

我想跟家人一起在家吃饭。 ✅ (slightly different focus: together with family, at home eat)
这个节我想和家人一起在家吃饭。 ✅

Positions that are wrong or very unnatural:

✗ 我想在家一起跟家人吃饭。 (not idiomatic)
✗ 我想在家跟家人吃饭一起。 (ungrammatical word order)

General pattern:

A 跟/和 B 一起 + Verb

So remember: 一起 usually goes right before the main action verb.

Does 吃饭 literally mean “eat rice”? Why not just say 吃?

Literally, 吃 (chī) = “to eat,” and 饭 (fàn) = “rice / food / meal.”

But in modern Mandarin, 吃饭 most often means “have a meal,” “eat (a meal)”, not specifically “eat rice.”

Examples:

我们中午一起吃饭吧。— Let’s have lunch together.
你吃饭了吗？— Have you eaten? (a common greeting)

When you say just 吃 without an object, it can sound incomplete unless the context is very clear:

我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。✅ Natural, “have a meal.”
我想在家跟家人一起吃。❓ Feels incomplete: “eat what?”

So in this context, 吃饭 is the standard, natural way to talk about having a meal together.

How is 一起 pronounced here? Why is it yìqǐ instead of yīqǐ?

This is due to tone sandhi (tone change rules) for 一 (yī).

Basic rule for 一 before another syllable:

Before a 4th tone, 一 → 2nd tone (yí):
- 一个 (yí gè), 一次 (yí cì)
Before 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tones, 一 → 4th tone (yì):
- 一天 (yì tiān), 一年 (yì nián), 一起 (yì qǐ)

So in 一起:

起 (qǐ) is 3rd tone.
Because it’s a 3rd tone, 一 changes from yī to yì.
So the correct pronunciation is yìqǐ.

In pinyin, learners usually write the changed tone (yìqǐ), not the underlying tone (yīqǐ).

Why is there no future tense marker like “will” or “is going to” in this sentence?

Chinese does not mark tense (past / present / future) the way English does. Instead, future meaning is usually clear from:

Time words: 明天, 下周, 这个节, 明年…
Modal verbs / context: 要, 会, 打算, 想…

In your sentence:

这个节我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。

The future meaning comes from:

这个节 – “this holiday” (points to a future or specific occasion)
想 – “want to / would like to,” naturally read as talking about a plan or wish for that time.

If you want to make the future idea even more explicit, you could say:

这个节我要在家跟家人一起吃饭。
这个节我打算在家跟家人一起吃饭。

But the original sentence already clearly refers to what you intend to do on that holiday.

Is 这个节我想在家跟家人一起吃饭 the only natural word order, or can I move parts around?

There is some flexibility, but not every permutation is natural. Some common, natural variants:

Time first (most common):
- 这个节我想在家跟家人一起吃饭。
- 这个节我想跟家人一起在家吃饭。
Subject first, then time:
- 我这个节想在家跟家人一起吃饭。

All of these are fine and sound natural. But the basic order should be:

[Time] + [Subject] + [Modal (想/要…)] + [在 + Place] + [跟/和 + People] + 一起 + [Verb]

If you start moving 一起 to the end or splitting 在家 and 吃饭 too far apart, it begins to sound odd or ungrammatical.

Is 这个节 something people actually say, or do they more often say 这个假期 / 这个节日?

All of these are possible, with slightly different feels:

这个节
- Colloquial, short.
- Often used when context makes it clear which festival (e.g. Spring Festival, Mid‑Autumn, etc.)
- Sounds very natural in conversation.
这个节日
- More explicit and a bit more formal / neutral.
- Good if you want to emphasize that it’s a festival day.
这个假期
- Emphasizes “holiday break / vacation period”, not necessarily a single festival day.
- E.g. winter break, summer holiday, Golden Week, etc.

In everyday speech, if people already know you’re talking about, say, Spring Festival, they often just say 这个节 or 过节的时候.