How to say Christmas in Chinese

First things first, let’s see how to write Christmas in Chinese.

圣诞节
Shèng Dàn jié
Christmas

That’s how you say Christmas in Chinese: 圣诞节 / Shèng Dàn jié.

To talk about Christmas Eve, you say:平安夜, [Píng ān Yè], which literally means: the Safe and Sound eve.
That’s also how you say “Silent Night” in Chinese. And yes, the famous Christmas Carol “Silent Night” is called 平安夜, [Píng ān Yè] in Mandarin!

平安夜
Píng ān Yè
Christmas Eve.

To write Merry Christmas in Chinese characters, you want to add the word 快乐, which means happy.

So to say Merry Christmas in Chinese language, you’ll say:

圣诞节快乐!
Shèng Dàn jié kuài lè
Merry Christmas

Celebrate Christmas in Chinese with a special world!

Christmas in China

Christmas in China is not quite celebrated the way other Christian-oriented countries celebrate it. Still, the holiday is becoming more and more popular in Chinese, so we’ve put together something special for the occasion: a Christmas-centric Mini-Course on Ninchanese!

Spend Meowy Holidays on Ninchanese!

In this special mini-world, you’ll experience how the Chinese celebrate Christmas. You’ll also learn the purrfect words and phrases you need to know to celebrate Christmas in Chinese and enjoy the holidays!

The special world dedicated to the Holidays is now available on the App and free for all Nincha learners (that can be you! Just sign up!). This Merry Holiday world is available for a limited time only: from the 20th of December 2021 to the 3rd of January 2022.

All those that will have finished these Holiday Stages by that date will earn a Nincha Holiday Badge! Make your friends and fellow Nincha learners envious with this exclusive badge! What are you waiting for? Click below to get started!

Or click here to head to Ninchanese if you can’t load the image.

You will be learning these words in Chinese for the holidays

Ooh, you want to know what you’ll be learning in these stages? Here are some of the words and phrases you’ll see:

•  节日 jié rì holiday; festival; holidays;

• 礼物 lǐ wù gift; present;

• 祝 zhù to wish; to express good wishes;

• 快乐 kuài lè happy; merry;

• 新年 xīn nián New Year;

• 圣诞 Shèng dàn Christmas;

• 圣诞节 Shèng dàn jié Christmas; Christmas season; Christmas time;

• 圣诞老人 Shèngdàn Lǎorén Santa Claus; Father Christmas;

• 节日快乐 Jié rì kuài lè  Happy Holidays;

• 圣诞快乐Shèng dàn kuài lè  Merry Christmas;

• 新年快乐 Xīn nián kuài lè Happy New Year.

Discover the rest and learn how to use these holiday words and phrases in Chinese in the Special Christmas World on Ninchanese!  It’s free!

More Christmas in Chinese Words

Want to go beyond the special Christmas Mini-World on Ninchanese? No problem! With the Nincha Decks, you can create as many vocabulary lists as you want about Christmas and the holidays in Chinese to go with it!
Learn Christmas greetings in Chinese, explore more Christmas Words in Chinese, focus on Christmas meals… The World’s your Oyster so go wild!

Here are 16 more Christmas Words to get you started – purrfect for your first Holiday-themed Nincha Deck!

Chinese Words to put yourself in the Christmas Spirit

Enjoy! And hopefully, learning these words will spark a little extra joy these holidays.

On this note,

The Nincha Team wishes you 圣诞快乐!

Have great holidays, everyone!

And one more thing…

If you want to continue learning Chinese with authentic and entertaining content, then you’ll love Ninchanese.

With Ninchanese, you get a complete method to learn Chinese which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. What’s more, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there’s content your level on Ninchanese and plenty more to discover!

So, whether you already have a background in Chinese or not, you will enjoy a way of learning Mandarin, both enjoyable and effective.

Start using Ninchanese on the web, with your computer or tablet, or, for Chinese learning in your pocket and on the go, download the Ninchanese app from the Google Play Store.

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

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The post Christmas in Chinese and Other Purrfect Words for the Holidays appeared first on Ninchanese.

Each year, new predictions are set according to traditional Chinese astrology. This Lunar Year is dedicated to the Monkey, the Ninth Zodiac Sign, so predictions can give you an indication of what may happen to you this Fire Monkey year and which signs will be lucky or unlucky. Wondering what this Year will be like? Let’s see what’s in store for you, this year.

Why the Fire Monkey?

As you perhaps are aware, there are 12 signs in the Chinese Zodiac. Each birth year corresponds to one of these signs. According to the year you were born in and your Zodiac animal, your fate is supposed to be different. Five natural elements also define your personality and fate: fire represents moral decency, wood is associated with benevolence, water with wisdom, earth with honesty and metal represents righteousness. Each year is also associated with one of the Five elements: for example, 2013, 2014, 2015 were are all in the fire cycle and so is 2016. This is why this year is a Fire Monkey year: a combination of the Monkey sign, and the Fire Element.

To find what your element is, head here. And for those who don’t know what their zodiac sign is, try here.

Will the Fire Monkey year be a Good Year for You?

According to the forecasts, this new Lunar Year will be an amazing year for Rats, Dragons and Monkeys. It will bring you charm and confidence. It’ll be, however, an unstable year. Tigers, Snakes, Boars and Dogs, you’ll have to hold on a bit, the Monkey Year will be a little complex to navigate for you. You’ll do better next year! 2017 will be the Rooster year and 2018 the Dog year, hopefully more auspicious years for those signs. In the meantime, stay highly focused and do your best to remain objective; it should help; Goats, Rabbits, Oxs, Roosters, Horses, the Monkey sign shouldn’t have any special effect on you.

A year of personal changes!

What shouldn’t happen this year: In spite of the current news, political and economic revolutions were not foreseen. Wouldn’t that be nice if it were true? It won’t be a time for collective efforts either but on the individual level, efforts and ambition will be rewarded. In comparison, the last time Chinese people celebrated a Fire Monkey year was in 1956, and a lot of things happened ithat year; so we’ll see!

What this year will be:

This year is said to be all about innovation and creation. The Monkey allows us to be wiser and to take risks so more adventurous experiences await you. Let’s get rebellious! :)The Year of the Fire Monkey is also a great time to be brave and experiment new things. Time to act on that bucket list you’ve been making for yours?

Predictions also announce the Lunar Year of the Monkey is and will be a great period to make business. Risk-takers and ambition will be rewarded. So be creative, embrace riskiness and don’t look back on the past! This is the way to succeed in this unstable year full of opportunities.

Whatever you choose to do in the Year of the Monkey, the Nincha Team wishes you all the best for the year to come! As for me, Pauline, the Nincha Team’s newest Intern Nincha, as I am born under the Dog sign, I’ll try my best this year and wait eagerly for better previsions next year!

Source for illustration: You Zhang

The Nincha Team

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The post What’s your prediction for the Fire Monkey year? appeared first on Ninchanese.

Here’s to hoping that this New Year 2015 will turn out to be all you want it to be!

What’s in store for you in this new year 2015?

Why not start by making 2015 the year you learn to speak Chinese?

We know just how: Come have fun with us on Ninchanese and learn Chinese!

Don’t be shy, Nincha and Lupishu are waiting for you!

As for us, we have plenty to show you in 2015! You’ll be seeing a new beta update soon!

Ninchanese combines addictive game mechanics, cute cats and efficient Chinese learning techniques to make learning Chinese a lot of fun! The app is now in beta so sign up now for early access to the beta! Check out our trailer and stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Weibo.

The post New Year 2015: Happy Mew Year! appeared first on Ninchanese.

Here’s our Tiger year resolution:

What’s your new tiger year’s resolution?  Hope your love of Chinese and your desire to learn the language stay strong!

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

Sign up now

The post 新年快乐! Happy New Year! It’s Tiger Year! appeared first on Ninchanese.

Celebrating the new year in China has a lot to do with scaring away the evil spirits, bringing yourself and your family good luck prosperity, and making sure the new year is off to a good beginning. And partying for 15 straight days, until 元宵 (yuánxiāo), the Lantern Festival, puts an end to the festivities. So, ready to learn how to celebrate?

Eat dumplings and fish with your family

Celebrate with your family

春节 is mainly a family event, where everyone gathers together to drink, eat, talk and have fun. The Chinese New Year is of particular significance for people working hundreds or thousands of miles away from home because they can return to their families for a reunion. This period is known as the world’s largest annual migration (read: The Chinese New year is NOT the time you want to be planning on taking the train, a bus, or a plane in China.)

过 : guò = celebrate

过春节 : guò chūnjié = celebrate the New Year.

回父母家: huí fùmǔ jiā = to go home to your parents.

和家人一起吃饺子和鱼: hé jiārén yīqǐ chī jiǎozi hé yú = eat fish and dumplings with your family

和家人一起过春节: hé jiārén yīqǐ guò chūnjié = celebrate Chūnjié with your family

Make dumplings

The making of 饺子, “Jiǎozis,” or dumplings, is a traditional family event on the day before the Chinese New Year (that would be the 9th of February 2013 this year), especially in the Northern part of China. The whole family gathers to make (or wrap – 包: bāo) dumplings and then eat them. It sounds like fun! Some believe they are packing in luck for the coming year by making dumplings. Ancient Chinese coins used to be hidden in the dumplings, also for prosperity. We’ll soon be sharing our own dumpling wrapping secrets and recipes :).

Prepare for some serious dumpling-making sessions! credit: kattebelletje via photopin

除夕: chúxī = New year’s eve

春节的前一天 = Chūnjié de qián yītiān = New year’s eve

饺子: jiǎozi = dumplings

包饺子: bāo jiǎozi = to make dumplings

吃饺子: chī jiǎozi = to eat dumplings

For example: 春节的前一天，我们会包饺子.

Chūnjié de qián yītiān, wǒmen huì bāo jiǎozi.

On New Year’s Eve, we make dumplings.

Eat fish

Fish is another essential dish for 春节, again for purely symbolic reasons. In Chinese, fish (鱼) is pronounced yú, which sounds like this character: 余, (also pronounced yú). 余 means “remains,” surplus or abundance.” So by eating fish (and some say, leaving a few leftovers), you are hoping for a prosperous year! The tradition is to eat a salad, called 捞鱼生 (lāoyúshēng), composed of raw fish and crunchy vegetables. You toss this salad to symbolize luck and prosperity, so the higher you toss the salad and the louder you shout out the name of the salad, the more chance you’ll get in the coming year.

鱼: yú = fish

余: yú = remain; surplus

年年有余 : nián nián yǒu yú = May there be abundance year after year!

Watch ’em toss that salad!

Wish good tidings

Here are a few key phrases to wish a happy new year to your family, friends, and acquaintances once midnight strikes!

过年吉祥话: guò nián jí xiáng huà = New Year wishes

拜年: bàinián = pay a New Year’s call

初一: chūyī = 新年的第一天 = New year’s day

To wish someone something in Chinese, start by saying : 祝你 : zhù nǐ = I wish you or 祝大家:  zhù dàjiā = I wish you all.

Newbie

新年好!: xīnnián hǎo!

新年快乐!: xīnnián kuàilè!

Both mean Happy New Year!

Level up!

Good Health

身体健康! : shēntǐ jiànkāng  = May you be healthy!

Good fortune

万事如意 : wànshì rúyì

Character breakdown

万: wàn = 10 000. It has also come to mean “everything”,+ 事:shì = thing + 如:rú = if  + 意: yì = wish == all the best!

For example 祝你在新的一年里万事如意

Zhù nǐ zàixīn de yìnián lǐ wànshì rúyì!

I wish you all the best for this new year!

Prosperity

财源广进 : cáiyuán guǎngjìn = We wish you abundant wealth.

This sentence is similar to 年年有余.

Do

Wear new clothes

In China, you buy and wear new clothes for the New Year. More generally, the idea is to make sure everything is ready to usher in the new year: houses are cleaned, hair is cut, debts repaid, new clothes acquired… so you can start the new year with a clean slate. Regarding the dresses, red-colored ones are favored. That’s because, in ancient times, the Chinese believed that red could scare away evil spirits and bad fortunes. Also, red symbolizes good luck and sounds like success.

Any excuse to buy new clothes is a good one. I like this tradition!

Decorate doors and windows

Doors are decorated with vertical scrolls of characters on red paper. Each household will write Chinese characters seeking good luck and praising nature. This practice stems from old traditions to keep away ghosts and evil spirits. 春联 (chūnlián) is the Chinese name for these vertical scrolls, also called couplets.

The tradition is to frame the door with these scrolls and stick a big “福” (fú = good fortune) sign in the middle. photo credit: kuber

Delicate and intricate red paper cutouts are also stuck on windows. These paper cutouts are called 窗花 (chuāng huā).

A New Year family activity is also making paper cutouts by hand. Kudos to them if they can make ones that look as good as these!  credit: West Zest

贴: tiē = to stick

贴春联: tiē chūnlián = to stick vertical scrolls

贴窗花: tiē chuāng huā = to stick paper cutouts

Make some noise!

Firecrackers are a big celebratory thing in China, used for weddings, festivities, and of course, the Chinese New Year. Firecrackers (called 鞭炮 – biānpào – in Chinese) are usually strung together to make more noise, as the noise was thought to scare away evil spirits. The first time I heard firecrackers in China, I honestly felt a riot was happening outside. Silly me. On New Year’s eve, everybody goes out to lit firecrackers and celebrate the beginning of the new year. So get ready to hear severe firecracker blasts once midnight strikes!

放鞭炮: fàng biānpào = to light firecrackers

Newcomers to China can easily mistake these firecrackers for something else because of the level of noise they create! photo credit: amythyst_lake

Give New Year gifts

红包, hóngbāo, or red envelopes, which contain money, are traditionally given during the Chinese New Year. They mean lucky money. It is customary for married couples and older folks to give these envelopes to the young ones, ranging from children… to unmarried people. Bosses also sometimes give those to their employees. Small gifts (food and such) are also exchanged between friends or neighbors. Oranges and citrus fruit are trendy gifts.

Watch the New Year TV Gala

In China, everybody gathers to watch the annual Chinese New year TV Gala during the evening. The show is called 春节晚会 (chūnjié wǎnhuì) and is meant to showcase traditional customs. It’s a family program, so expect a bit of everything: music, acrobatics, acts… Although, I’ve heard it’s becoming increasingly cheesy. Guess that’s a trend in television everywhere…

You can check out former shows on your favorite video player, listen to a compilation of the songs played on the show here, and see this year’s lineup here. (In China, it shows on CCTV-1)

Sing the New Year Song

There’s a popular children’s song you can sing for the New Year holiday, called 新年好呀 (Xīn Nián Hǎo Ya!), which you now know means Happy New Year (literally “New Year’s Good, Ya!”). As you’ll hear in the video, the melody is similar to the song “Oh My Darling, Clementine.”

Chorus:

新年好呀！ 新年好呀! Xīnnián hǎo ya! x2 Happy New Year!x2
祝贺大家新年好! Zhùhè dàjiā xīnnián hǎo! Happy New Year to you all!
我们唱歌，我们跳舞 Wǒmen chànggē, wǒmen tiàowǔ. We are singing; we are dancing.
祝贺大家新年好! Zhùhè dàjiā xīnnián hǎo! Happy New Year to you all!

So, how are you planning to celebrate the Chinese New Year?

We’ll be making our own 饺子 of course, and we’ll going to our local Chinese restaurant to enjoy a ten course Chinese New Year Feast Yum!

Happy Chinese New Year! 新年快乐!

And one more thing…

If you want to continue learning Chinese with authentic and entertaining content, then you’ll love Ninchanese.

With Ninchanese, you get a complete method to learn Chinese which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. What’s more, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there’s content your level on Ninchanese and plenty more!

Start using Ninchanese on the web, with your computer or tablet, or, for Chinese learning in your pocket and on the go, download the Ninchanese app from the Google Play Store.

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

Sign up now

________________________

Credit for title picture: Gw.Wang

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