Birthdays
and Chinese horoscope
hou4tian1 shi4 wo3 sheng1ri4,
后天是我生日
It is my
birthday the day after tomorrow
前天 (qian2tian1):
two days ago
昨天 (zuo2tian1):
yesterday
明天 (ming2tian1):
tomorrow
后天 (hou4tian1):
the day after tomorrow
wo3 xiang3 qing3 ni3
can1jia1 wo3de5 sheng1ri4 wan3hui4
我想请你参加我的生日晚会。
I want to invite you
to my birthday party
Hou4tian1 ji3hao4
后天几号 ?
What day is it, the
day after tomorrow?
Ba1yue4 wu3hao4, xing1qi1er4.
八月五号，星期二。
It's Tuesday 5th
August.
Wan3shang5 ni3 you3mei2you3
shi2jian1
晚上你 有没有
时间
Will you have time at
night?
To make a question we
can also use the form: statment - negation.
Ni3 shi4bu4shi4 xi1ban1ya2
ren2
你是不是西班牙人
?
Are you Spanish?
Ni3 you3mei2you3 han4yu3
ke4
你有没有汉语课
?
Do you have Chinese
class?
When a verb has more
than one syllable or it has an object, we can omit the second syllable
or the object from the affirmative part, for example:
ni3 xi3bu4xi3huan5
kan4shu1
你喜不喜欢看书
?
Do you like reading?
ni3 chi1bu4chi1 rou4
你吃不吃肉
?
Do you eat meat?
You3 shi2jian1. wan3hui4
ji3dian3 kai1shi3
有时间。晚会几点开始
?
Yes, I have time. What
time does the party begin?
Wan3shang4 qi1dian3 ban4
晚上 7
点半
At half past seven.
Hao3, wo3 yi1ding4 lai2.
ni3 jin1nian2 duo1da4
好，我一定来。你今年多大
?
Good, I'm sure I'll come.
How old are you going to be?
Er4shi2wu3 sui4
二十五岁。
Twenty five
Ni3 shu3 shen2me5
你属什么 ?
What anmial do you belong
to? (Chinese horoscope)
Wo3 shu3 ma3
我属马。
I am a horse
Chinese Horoscope
When you live with Chinese
people you often hear things like, "This year is the year of the
tiger and next year will be the year of the rabbit".
When refering to the
age of a Chinese person, we usually say that a certain person is 24
years old and they are a horse and that his older brother is 26 years
old and is a dragon.
But, how does this mean?
They are referring to the Chinese Horoscope. The Chinese have taken
12 animals to represent the twelve terrestrial branches that traditionally
design the years. Somebody that is born in a certain year will automatically
belong to a certain animal.
The twelve animals form
a circle (once the circle has concluded it starts again). They are called
"the twelve animals of the horoscope". The order is: rat,
ox, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Using this system many
Chinese people know how to calculate the age of a person according to
their animal horoscop and viceversa.
Vocabulary
English
|
Chinese
(phonetic) |
Chinese
(written) |
| |
|
|
The
day after tomorrow |
Hou4tian1
|
后天 |
Birthday
|
Sheng1ri4
|
生日 |
To
invite |
Qing3
|
请 |
To
particpate |
Can1jia1
|
参加 |
Party
|
Wan3hui4
|
晚会 |
To
start |
Kai1shi3
|
开始 |
Surely
|
Yi1ding4
|
一定 |
To
belong to |
Shu3
|
属 |
Horse
|
Ma3
|
马 |
Rat |
Shu3
|
鼠 |
Ox
|
Niu2
|
牛 |
Tiger |
Hu3
|
虎 |
Rabbit
|
Tu4
|
兔 |
Dragon |
Long2
|
龙 |
Snake |
She2
|
蛇 |
Goat |
Yang2
|
羊 |
Monkey |
Hou2
|
猴 |
Rooster |
Ji1
|
鸡 |
Dog
|
Gou3
|
狗 |
Pig
|
Zhu1
|
猪 |
Chinese
Character of the day
