Chinese For Dummies (30 page)

Talkin' the Talk

Joseph asks Julia about her birthday.

Joseph:

Julia, nǐde shēngrì shì jǐyuè jǐhào?

Julia, nee-duh shung-ir shir jee-yweh jee-how?

Julia, when's your birthday?

Julia:

Wǒde shēngrì shì liùyuè èr hào. Nǐde ne?

waw-duh shung-ir shir lyo-yweh are how. nee-duh nuh?

My birthday is June
2. How about yours?

Joseph:

Wǒde shēngrì shì wǔyuè qī hào.

waw-duh shung-ir shir woo-yweh chee how.

My birthday is May
7.

Julia:

Nèmme, xiàge xīngqīyī jiù shì nǐde shēngrì! Zhù nǐ chàjǐtiān shēngrì kuàilè!

nummuh, shyah-guh sheeng-chee-ee jyo shir nee-duh shung-ir! joo nee chah-jee-tyan shung-ir kwye-luh!

In that case, next Monday is your birthday! Happy almost birthday!

Celebrating Chinese holidays

When was the last time you saw a
wǔshī
舞狮
(
舞獅
) (woo-shir) (
lion dance
) in Chinatown? You can catch this colorful (and noisy) dance and all the other festivities during
nónglì xīn nián
农历新年
(
農曆新年
) (noong-lee sheen nyan) (
the Lunar New Year
), also known as
chūnjié
春節
(chwun-jyeh) (
the Spring Festival
). Just be careful not to get too close to all the
yān huǒ
烟火
(
焰火
) (yan hwaw) (
fireworks
).

To extend New Year's greetings, you can say
Xīn nián kuàilè!
新年快乐
! (
新年快樂
!) (shin nyan kwye-luh!) (
Happy New Year!
) or, better yet,
Gōngxī fācái!
恭喜发财
! (
恭喜發財
!) (goong-she fah-tsye!) (
Congratulations, and may you prosper!
). In fact, you can start saying this on
chúxī
除夕
(choo-shee) (
Chinese New Year's Eve
), the night when Chinese families get together to share a big, traditional dinner. The next morning children wish their parents a happy New Year and get
hóng bāo
红包
(
紅包
) (hoong baow) (
red envelopes
) with money in them. What a great way to start the year!

Table 5-8
helps you keep track of which animal year we're in according to the
shēngxiào
生肖
(shung-shyaow) (
Chinese zodiac
), which runs in 12-year cycles.

Here are some other major Chinese holidays:

Yuán xiāo jié
元宵节
(
元宵節
) (ywan shyaow jyeh) (
Lantern Festival
): Lantern parades and lion dances help celebrate the first full moon, which marks the end of the Chinese New Year, in either January or February.

Qīngmíng jié
清明节
(
清明節
) (cheeng-meeng jyeh) (Literally:
the Clear and Bright Festival
): This celebration at the beginning of April is actually Tomb Sweeping Day, when families go on spring outings to clean and make offerings at the graves of their ancestors.

Duānwǔ
jié
端午节
(
端午節
) (dwan-woo jyeh) (
Dragon Boat Festival
): To commemorate the ancient poet
Qū Yuán
屈原
(chew ywan), who drowned himself to protest government corruption, Chinese people eat
zòngzǐ
粽子
(dzoong-dzuh) (
glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves
), drink yellow rice wine, and hold dragon boat races on the river. This holiday often falls in late May or early June.

Zhōngqiū
jié
中秋节
(
中秋節
) (joong-chyo jyeh) (
Mid-Autumn Festival
): This popular lunar harvest festival celebrates
Cháng'é
嫦娥
(chahng-uh), the Chinese goddess of the moon (and of immortality). Red bean and lotus seed pastries called
mooncakes
are eaten, romantic matches are made, and all's right with the world. This holiday usually comes in September.

Sizing Up Weights and Measures

The metric system is standard in both mainland China and Taiwan. The basic unit of weight is the
gōngkè
公克
(goong-kuh) (
gram
), so you usually buy fruits and vegetables in multiples of that measure. The standard liquid measurement is the
shēng
升
(shung) (
liter
). One liter equals about 1.06 quarts.
Table 5-9
gives you a list of weights and measures.

Table 5-9 Weights and Measures