Learn how to wish someone happy holidays We will also give you some insight into the Chinese calendar
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Anthony: Welcome to chineseclass101, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Chinese. |
| Echo: 嗨，大家好，我是Echo.(Hāi, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Anthony: And I am Anthony. Today we have our fourth lesson in our second season of our beginner series titled What’s Your Chinese Sign? |
| Echo: Right. |
| Anthony: Echo, I think today’s lesson might be the most fun podcast we’ve ever done. |
| Echo: Yes and that’s because in our grammar section, we are going to teach our listeners how to wish someone a happy new year. |
| Anthony: Or a happy birthday. |
| Echo: And a bunch of other fun holidays. |
| Anthony: And our vocabulary section is revolving around the Chinese Zodiac. |
| Echo: Right. So we are going to teach you how to say what sign you are. |
| Anthony: Also both Echo and I have the same Chinese Zodiac sign. Can you guess what it is? |
| Echo: Okay so keep listening and find out which animal you are. |
| Anthony: But before we go to the dialogue, there is one thing I’d like to say. If you haven’t yet signed up with our basic subscription, it’s only $4 a month. With that, you get access to our entire archive of lessons and beyond that, you get PDF downloads. This lets you review the content after you’ve listened to the podcast. It’s really going to make stuff stick. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Anthony: So with that, let’s get to our dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 新年快乐！(Xīnnián kuàilè!) |
| 你属什么？(Nǐ shǔ shénme?) |
| 我属老虎。(Wǒ shǔ lǎohǔ.) |
| 我们一样！(Wǒmen yíyàng!) |
| David: One more time, a bit slower. |
| 新年快乐！(Xīnnián kuàilè!) |
| 你属什么？(Nǐ shǔ shénme?) |
| 我属老虎。(Wǒ shǔ lǎohǔ.) |
| 我们一样！(Wǒmen yíyàng!) |
| David: One more time, with English. |
| 新年快乐！(Xīnnián kuàilè!) |
| Happy New Year! |
| 你属什么？(Nǐ shǔ shénme?) |
| What sign are you? |
| 我属老虎。(Wǒ shǔ lǎohǔ.) |
| I am a tiger. |
| 我们一样！(Wǒmen yíyàng!) |
| We are the same! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Anthony: So Echo, we have a new year according to the Chinese calendar and this year is special for the both of us. |
| Echo: That’s right because we are both tigers. |
| Anthony: We were both born in 1986. |
| Echo: And every 12 years is our year to shine. |
| Anthony: And since this is our year, are we entitled to any special privileges? Do we have a lot of extra special luck coming our way? |
| Echo: Well traditionally when it was your year, you are supposed to wear red and wear red socks and red belt. |
| Anthony: Okay. That’s good to know. Red is a fun color. |
| Echo: Right and you know what else is fun? |
| Anthony: Yes our vocabulary section and that is why we are going to go to it right now. |
| Anthony: And now the vocab section. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Echo: 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) |
| Anthony: Happy New Year. |
| Echo: 新年快乐, 新年快乐. 属 (xīnnián kuàilè, xīnnián kuàilè. shǔ) |
| Anthony: To be born into a year. |
| Echo: 属, 属. 岁 (shǔ, shǔ. suì) |
| Anthony: Year’s old. |
| Echo: 岁, 岁. 兔 (suì, suì. tù) |
| Anthony: Rabbit. |
| Echo: 兔, 兔. 虎 (tù, tù. hǔ) |
| Anthony: Tiger. |
| Echo: 虎, 虎. 龙 (hǔ, hǔ. lóng) |
| Anthony: Dragon. |
| Echo: 龙, 龙. 蛇 (lóng, lóng. shé) |
| Anthony: Snake. |
| Echo: 蛇, 蛇. 生日 (shé, shé. shēngrì) |
| Anthony: Birthday. |
| Echo: 生日, 生日. 节日. (shēngrì, shēngrì. Jiérì.) |
| Anthony: Holiday. |
| Echo: 节日, 节日. (Jiérì, Jiérì.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Anthony: All right. So we covered a couple of words in our vocabulary section. Let’s take a closer look at the usage. The first phrase that we are going to look at is |
| Echo: 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) |
| Anthony: Yes Happy New Years. |
| Echo: 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) |
| Anthony: And if you translate this directly, it means New Year Happy. |
| Echo: Right, 你也新年快乐 (Nǐ yě xīnnián kuàilè) |
| Anthony: Happy New Years to you too. |
| Echo: 你也新年快乐 (Nǐ yě xīnnián kuàilè) |
| Anthony: Now this next word is very specific to Chinese culture. |
| Echo: Yes 属 (shǔ) |
| Anthony: And this means to be born into a year. |
| Echo: 属 (shǔ) |
| Anthony: And last year, someone would say this sentence. |
| Echo: 我属牛，你呢？(Wǒ shǔ niú, nǐ ne?) |
| Anthony: I was born into the year of the cow, what about you? |
| Echo: 我属牛，你呢？ (Wǒ shǔ niú, nǐ ne?) |
| Anthony: Okay so the next few vocabulary words are going to be about animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Now we are going to include the animal and also the age of the person whose year it is. |
| Echo: Okay. |
| Anthony: So let’s start with the first one. |
| Echo: 虎 (hǔ) |
| Anthony: This is tiger. |
| Echo: 虎。我属虎，今年二十四岁了。(Hǔ. Wǒ shǔ hǔ, jīnnián èrshísì suìle.) |
| Anthony: I am a tiger. I am 24 years old this year. |
| Echo: 我属虎，今年二十四岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ hǔ, jīnnián èrshísì suìle.) |
| Anthony: Now we might be giving away too much information but this sentence is true for both you and I Echo, isn’t that correct? |
| Echo: Yes. |
| Anthony: So for those of you born in 1986 after February, congratulations. This is your year. |
| Echo: Right. Okay so besides being associated with an animal, you are also given one of five elements. |
| Anthony: Yes and it just so happens that 1926 and 1986 is the year of the Fire tiger. |
| Echo: So we are fire tigers. |
| Anthony: Fire. And I went online and I did a little research and I found a description of fire tiger’s personalities. |
| Echo: Yeah. |
| Anthony: And I quote, Expressive, vibrant and a bit eccentric, fire tigers are always looking at the positive side of every situation”. |
| Echo: Sounds good. |
| Anthony: Because they are able to generate excitement in others, they are considered excellent leaders. When fire tigers speak, others listen and do what they are told. |
| Echo: I like it. |
| Anthony: Yeah I think it’s a fairly accurate description. So our next animal on the calendar is |
| Echo: 兔 (tù) |
| Anthony: It’s a Rabbit. |
| Echo: 兔 (tù) |
| Anthony: Bunny Rabbit. |
| Echo: 我属兔，今年二十三岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ tù, jīnnián èrshísān suìle.) |
| Anthony: I am a Rabbit, I am 23 this year. |
| Echo: 我属兔，今年二十三岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ tù, jīnnián èrshísān suìle.) |
| Anthony: Now this next animal happens to be my favorite. |
| Echo: Which is 龙。 (Lóng.) |
| Anthony: That’s dragon. |
| Echo: 我属龙，今年二十二岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ lóng, jīnnián èrshí'èr suìle.) |
| Anthony: I am a Dragon. This year, I am 22 years old. |
| Echo: 我属龙，今年二十二岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ lóng, jīnnián èrshí'èr suìle.) |
| Anthony: Now Echo I’ve heard that being born into the year the Dragon is considered to be the most auspicious. |
| Echo: Well I’ve never heard of that. |
| Anthony: Really. |
| Echo: No, but I think it’s a one of the coolest animals. |
| Anthony: Yeah if not the luckiest, the coolest right? |
| Echo: Yeah. |
| Anthony: So the next animal is |
| Echo: 蛇 (shé) |
| Anthony: And that’s the snake. |
| Echo: 我属蛇，今年二十一岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ shé, jīnnián èrshíyī suìle.) |
| Anthony: I am a snake, I am 21 years old. |
| Echo: 我属蛇，今年二十一岁了。 (Wǒ shǔ shé, jīnnián èrshíyī suìle.) |
| Anthony: Now the snake is also given another name, isn’t that right? |
| Echo: Right because in China, people don’t really like 蛇 (Shé) |
| Anthony: Why is that? It doesn’t sound good. |
| Echo: No. |
| Anthony: It’s got a negative connotation? |
| Echo: We just don’t like that animal. |
| Anthony: So what do you call it instead? If you don’t call it snake, what do you call it? |
| Echo: We can call it 小龙 (Xiǎolóng) |
| Anthony: Little dragon. |
| Echo: 小龙 (Xiǎolóng) |
| Anthony: Okay that works. |
| Echo: Yeah it sounds better. |
| Anthony: Now if you haven’t guessed by now, the word for years old is |
| Echo: 岁 (suì) |
| Anthony: That’s fourth tone. |
| Echo: 岁 (suì) |
| Anthony: Now this next sample sentence I’ve found quite true to some of the older Chinese people and the fact that they think where they want to, they wish… |
| Echo: 我想活到一百岁。 (Wǒ xiǎng huó dào yì bǎi suì.) |
| Anthony: I want to live to be a 100 years old. |
| Echo: 我想活到一百岁。 (Wǒ xiǎng huó dào yì bǎi suì.) Next word 生日 (shēngrì) |
| Anthony: And this is the word for birthday. |
| Echo: 生日 (shēngrì) |
| Anthony: As in |
| Echo: 生日快乐。这是你的礼物。 (Shēngrì kuàilè. Zhè shì nǐ de lǐwù.) |
| Anthony: And Echo, you like this sentence, don’t you? |
| Echo: Yes. |
| Anthony: Happy birthday. Here are your gifts. |
| Echo: Yeah I like gifts. |
| Anthony: Okay and on to our next vocabulary word. |
| Echo: 节日。 (Jiérì.) |
| Anthony: Now this is a generic term for holiday. |
| Echo: 节日。 (Jiérì.) |
| Anthony: As in |
| Echo: 节日快乐。 (Jiérì. Jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Happy holidays. |
| Echo: 节日快乐。 (Jiérì. Jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Okay and that’s it for our vocabulary section. Let’s go to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Anthony: Today’s grammar focus is all about wishing someone a happy holiday. |
| Echo: Or a happy birthday. |
| Anthony: Or a happy birthday. Let’s start out with the phrase that we heard in the dialogue. |
| Echo: 新年快乐。 (Xīnnián kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Happy New Year. |
| Echo: 新年快乐。 (Xīnnián kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Now as we said in the vocab section, this literally translates to New Year happy. |
| Echo: Yes and 快乐 (kuàilè) means happy. |
| Anthony: Happy. |
| Echo: 快乐 (kuàilè) |
| Anthony: So to wish someone a happy anything really, all you have to do is add the two characters for happy... |
| Echo: 快乐 (kuàilè) |
| Anthony: to the end of practically any activity or holiday to make it extra special. |
| Echo: Right. |
| Anthony: For example Echo, happy birthday. |
| Echo: 生日快乐。 (Shēngrì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Once again, this translates as birthday happy. |
| Echo: 生日快乐。 (Shēngrì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Now if you want to wish someone a happy birthday or wish someone a happy new year, all you do is add the words... |
| Echo: 祝你 (Zhù nǐ) |
| Anthony: Add it to the front and this literally means wish you. |
| Echo: 祝你 (Zhù nǐ) |
| Anthony: If you want to wish somebody a happy holiday |
| Echo: 祝你节日快乐。 (Zhù nǐ jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Wish you a happy holiday. |
| Echo: 祝你节日快乐。 (Zhù nǐ jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: So Echo, it’s your friend’s birthday. You want to wish them a happy birthday, how do we do it? |
| Echo: 祝你生日快乐。 (Zhù nǐ jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: One more time. |
| Echo: 祝你生日快乐。 (Zhù nǐ jiérì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: And let’s say you want to wish somebody a happy valentine’s day. |
| Echo: 祝你情人日快乐。 (Zhù nǐ qíngrén rì kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Okay so Echo, what if I want to wish somebody a happy National Day in China? |
| Echo: 祝你国庆节快乐。 (Zhù nǐ guóqìng jié kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: Let’s hear that one more time. |
| Echo: 祝你国庆节快乐。 (Zhù nǐ guóqìng jié kuàilè.) |
| Anthony: And that holiday happens on October 1st. |
| Echo: Right. And it’s a long holiday. |
| Anthony: It’s a long holiday of days off and military parades. Now on a final note, there is one TV show that I have watched and it has burned the word for happy into my brain. |
| Echo: That must be 快乐女生 (Kuàilè nǚshēng) |
| Anthony: Yes this is “happy girls” and this is the Chinese version of American Idol. Now Echo, do you ever watch this show? |
| Echo: Not really. |
| Anthony: I’ve seen it a couple of times but I don’t… |
| Echo: It’s fun. |
| Anthony: I don’t really watch it for the singing. It’s like a train wreck that I can’t turn my head away from. |
Outro |
| Anthony:So that just about does it for today. Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation. |
| Echo: The voice recording tool. |
| Anthony: Yes the voice recording tool in the premium learning center. |
| Echo: Right. Record your voice with a click of a button. |
| Anthony: And then play it back just as easily. |
| Echo: Right. So you record your voice and then listen to it. |
| Anthony: And you can compare this to native speakers. |
| Echo: Right and adjust your pronunciation. |
| Anthony: And to get access to this awesome feature, all you have to do is pay $10 a month for premium access. From Beijing, I am Anthony. |
| Echo: 我是Echo。 (Wǒ shì Echo.) |
| Anthony: Thanks for listening and we will see you next week. |
| Echo: 下次见吧。 (Xià cì jiàn ba.) Bye bye. |
| Anthony: Bye. |
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