季节(jì jié) - season in Mandarin

季节 (jì jié) is the general word for season, the umbrella term covering 春天 (chūn tiān, "spring"), 夏天 (xià tiān, "summer"), 秋天 (qiū tiān, "autumn") and 冬天 (dōng tiān, "winter"). 季 (jì) alone means "season, quarter (of a year)", and 节 (jié) here contributes the sense of a division or segment, the same character that appears in 节日 (jié rì, "festival").

It is the word to reach for when talking about seasons in general - 你最喜欢哪个季节 (nǐ zuì xǐ huan nǎ ge jì jié, "which season do you like best") - rather than naming one specific season, where the individual season words are used instead.

季 (jì) also survives on its own in set phrases like 四季 (sì jì, "the four seasons") and 旺季 (wàng jì, "peak season, high season"), both useful once 季节 (jì jié) itself is secure.