Learn about superstitions related to hearing a raven, and hearing a magpie
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hello and welcome to Culture Class: Chinese Superstitions and Beliefs, Lesson 3 - Hearing a Raven and Hearing a Magpie. I'm Eric and I'm joined by Dehua. |
| Dehua: 你好! (nǐhǎo!), I'm Dehua. |
| THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS |
| Eric: In this lesson we’ll talk about two common superstitions in China. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s it called in Chinese? |
| Dehua: 听见乌鸦叫, (tīngjiàn wūyā jiào). |
| Eric: Which literally means "to hear a raven." Dehua, can you repeat the Chinese phrase again? |
| Dehua: [slow] 听见乌鸦叫 [normal] 听见乌鸦叫 |
| Eric: In China, it's believed that hearing a raven is bad luck. |
| Dehua: I think ravens are associated with the supernatural in many cultures. |
| Eric: I would agree. This could be because of the raven's black color and the depressing sound it makes. In English, they say “caw” and in Chinese, they say… |
| Dehua: [gwa gwa] |
| Eric: Also, ravens were always seen at battlefields feeding on dead bodies. |
| Dehua: So you can understand why they have a negative image. |
| Eric: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s it called in Chinese? |
| Dehua: 听见喜鹊叫, (tīngjiàn xǐquè jiào). |
| Eric: Which literally means "to hear a magpie." Let’s hear it in Chinese again. |
| Dehua: [slow] 听见喜鹊叫 [normal] 听见喜鹊叫 |
| Eric: In China, it's believed that hearing a magpie is good luck. |
| Dehua: In China, magpies have a much more positive image than ravens. |
| Eric: It's because magpies are attracted to fresh fruits and food. |
| Dehua: These are foods served on happy occasions in China, such as weddings. |
| Eric: So people associate magpies with good things and good luck. |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: There you have it - two Chinese superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments! |
| Dehua: 再见! (Zàijiàn!) |
Comments
HideIs there any similar superstition in your country?
你好 robert groulx,
谢谢 for commenting. We are very happy to have you here. Let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
雷文特 (Levente)
Team ChineseClass101.com
thank you for the lesson transcript
our superstition is looking at a black cat walking
(tīngjiàn xǐquè jiào).
robert
I don't know 我不知道
Hello, diverkim,
渡鸦 is one kind of 乌鸦. In China, we besides the specialists, don't distinguish whether it is a raven or a crow.
Mostly, when we see such black birds, we call :" 乌鸦!"
Cho
Team ChineseClass101.com
Where I am from we distinguish between a raven and a crow. I know "crow" to be 乌鸦 (wu1ya1) in Chinese, and I learned "raven" was 渡鸦 (du4ya1). Please elaborate.