C: Yajie, is there any Chinese name for the first day of the lunar New Year?
Y: sure. it's 正月初一 zheng1 yue4 chu1 yi1.
C: zheng1 yue4 chu1 yi1
Y: 正月 zheng1 yue4 means lunar January
C: zheng1 yue4,
Y: 初一 chu1 yi1, means the beginning of the lunar New Year
C: chu1 yi1.
Y: 正月初一 zheng1 yue4 chu1 yi1. The first day of the lunar New Year
C: zheng1 yue4 chu1 yi1. 正月初一
Y: you can also say da4 nian2 chu1 yi1, 大年初一
C: da4 nian2 chu1 yi1. Then what do you usually do on the first day of the lunar New Year?
Y: usually we are dressed in new clothes and drop by to greet neighbors, friends and colleagues. we
call it 拜年 bai4 nian2 拜年
C: bai4 nian2.
Y: 拜 bai4 means to pay a visit
C: bai4
Y: 年 nian2 means new year
C: nian2
Y: 拜年 bai4 nian2, give spring festival greetings
C: bai4 nian2
Conversation 1:
A: 今天是大年初一。我给大家拜年了。
B: 谢谢。也给你拜个年!
C: then what should I say when giving New Year's greetings?
Y: there are many choices… for a fairly easy one, you can say chun1 jie2 kuai4 le4.春节快乐。
C: chun1 jie2 kuai4 le4.
Y: 春节 chun1 jie2, spring festival,
C: chun1 jie2
Y: 快乐 kuai4 le4 means happy,
C: kuai4 le4
Y: 春节快乐 chun1 jie2 kuai4 le4 Happy Spring Festival.
C: chun1 jie2 kuai4 le4
Conversation 2:
A:祝您春节快乐!
B:也祝您全家春节快乐!
C: what else do you have for greetings?
Y: There is another common one in Mandarin it's: "Gong1 Xi3 Fa1 Cai2"
C: "Gong Xi Fa Cai", what does it mean? 恭喜发财,
Y: it means I wish you earn more money,
C: that must be a very good greeting for merchants.
Y: You bet. It's also popular to say it in Cantonese: "Kung Hei Fat Choi"
C: "Kung Hei Fat Choi"
Y: if you want to wish someone good health, you can say “shen1 ti3 jian4 kang1.”
C: shen1 ti3 jian4 kang1.身体健康,
Y: 身体 shen1 ti3 means body,
C: shen1 ti3
Y: 健康 jian4 kang1, healthy,
C: jian4 kang1
Y: 身体健康 shen1 ti3 jian4 kang1 I wish you a fit body.
C: shen1 ti3 jian4 kang1 Yajie, is there a Chinese equivalent for "All the best"?
Y: Thats the next greeting that I'm going to tell you. In Chinese it's "万事如意 wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4"
C: "wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4" 万事如意。
Y: 万事 wan4 shi4 means everything, the all,
C: wan4 shi4,
Y: 如意 ru2 yi4 means as one's wishes,
C: ru2 yi4
Y: "万事如意 wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4" All the best.
C: "wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4"
Conversation 3:
A: 恭喜发财,生意兴隆。
B: 祝您身体健康,万事如意。
Yajie: Happy spring festival everyone. It's been a pleasure doing this week's show.
Cam: And it's been a pleasure for me to learn. Its time for our question of the day. How do you say, "happy spring festival" in Chinese?
YJ: If you have the right answer, you might even win a prize from us! Ming tian jian.
Cam: Mingtian jian!
