jenny's blog

2019年快要来了。在中国，一年的第一天有一个独特的名字：元旦。

2019 is coming soon. In China, the first day of a year has a unique name: ‘yuandan’.

“元”有开始的意思，而“旦”指天明的时间，也指日、天。元旦，便是一年开始的第一天。

‘yuan’ means beginning, whereas ‘dan’ indicates the timing when the sun rises and/or day. yuandan is the first day of a new year.

中国古代各朝元旦的时间并不一样。夏朝在正月初一，商朝在十二月初一，周朝在十一月初一，秦朝在十月初一，等等。这些日期基本都遵循了中国古代的农历。

Christmas is over and the next up and coming event is the new years!
While the Chinese didn't use to celebrate the new years on the 31st December since we have our own lunar calendar and our own Chinese New year. However, as with modern times, people are now coming together every year to celebrate the new year with fireworks and celebrations!

没图你说个贾斯汀比伯
Méi tú nǐ shuō gè jiǎsītīng bǐ bó

A direct translation of the phrase is "If you don't have a picture, you are just talking a Justin Bieber", which does not really make sense. Instead, People usually say this when they require to see a picture of what you just described.

贾斯汀比伯 is actually Justine Bieber in Chinese. By why Justin Bieber?
The acronym of Justin Bieber is JB, which means penis in Chinese. Penis can mean a lot in Chinese, but in this particular context, it basically means “nothing”.

An example of how you use this phrase:

Due to the popularity of the first two series, this is the third part series of learning Christmas terms in Chinese!

Countdown to Christmas --- 3 more days!!

1. 圣诞颂歌
shèng dàn sòng gē

This means Christmas Carols! Of course, music plays a huge role in this festive season of Christmas~

2. 圣诞气氛
shèng dàn qì fēn

This means Christmas atmosphere or Christmas Spirit. This is meant to convey the festive spirit and feelings as you celebrate christmas

3. 银色圣诞
yín sè shèng dàn

美国贸易站
Měiguó màoyì zhàn

2018年4月11日，英国主流大报《卫报》纸质版和网络版分别以《打贸易战损人害己》、《中国无意与美国打贸易战，但必须捍卫自身权益》为题刊登驻英国大使刘晓明署名文章

On 11 April 2018, the Guardian published a signed article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming entitled “There Would Be No Winner in a Trade War”. The newspaper’s website also published the article with the title “China Does Not Want a Trade War with the US, but It Must Defend Itself”.

首先，历史一再证明“贸易战”没有赢家。特朗普政府单方面出台贸易保护主义举措，既是美国长期霸权思维的“后遗症”，也是无视历史事实的“健忘症”。据统计，美国历史上至少125次单方面对其他国家发起“301调查”。无论是布什政府的钢铁保障性关税，还是奥巴马政府的轮胎特保案，美国最终都伤及自身，得不偿失。

平安夜
ping an ye

There is a tradition that's becoming popular, on Christmas Eve, to give out apples.

Many stores have apples wrapped up in colored paper for sale. People give apples on Christmas Eve because in Chinese Christmas Eve is called 平安夜 (ping an ye).

If we breakdown the phrase:
平安: means peace or peaceful
夜: means evening or night

圣诞节是西方的传统节日（chuántǒngjiérì. Traditional Holiday），起源于基督教（jīdūjiào. Christianity. …教is religions ）。每年的圣诞节（shèngdànjié. Christmas）都是12月25日，距离现在已经不到10天了。

Christmas, originated from Christianity, is a western traditional holiday. Every Christmas comes at 25th December, which is less than 10 days from now.

Following up on yesterday's post on Christmas Vocabulary in Chinese, this is the second part~

1. 北极 (běi jí)
This means the North Pole. It is apparently where Santa Claus stays at with his elves and workshops~

2. 雪橇 (xuě qiāo):
This means sleigh, what Santa Claus uses to ride around the world~

“耶诞老公公搭雪橇来啰“
yé dàn lǎo gōng gōng dā xuě qiāo lái luō

“Santa Claus is coming on his sleigh“

3. 小精灵 (xiǎo jīng líng):
This mean little elf, the assistant of Santa Claus!

“小精灵请小朋友回答“
xiǎo jīng líng qǐng xiǎo péng yǒu huí dá

We are finally in the month of December and entering the festive season of Christmas!

Today, we will examine some Christmas related Chinese vocabulary!

1. 槲寄生 (hú jì shēng): This means mistletoe. You know the common myth (or maybe its true?) that you someone asks you for a kiss under the mistletoe, you can't reject them? Well, lets learn to say that in chinese!
"在槲寄生下，男生可亲吻女生且不会被拒绝"
zài hú jì shēng xià, nán shēng kě qīn wěn nǚ shēng qiě bù huì bèi jù jué

不明觉厉
bù míng jué lì

This is a form of an internet expression. This slang term is short for “[I] don’t understand it but feel it’s awesome.”

Breaking down the word: 虽然‘不明’白你在说什么，但‘觉’得很‘厉’害的样子
Although I don't understand what you are talking about, but it feels like its amazing/awesome.

‘不明’ -> Not understanding
觉 -> feel
‘厉’害 -> amazing/awesome

The full version of this phrase is suppose to be 虽不明，但觉厉!