四 – sì – Four

Today’s word is a particularly important one culturally. The number four is seen as unlucky in China, because it sounds similar to the word for death. It is very important to get your tones right on this one.

The number four, 四, is written sì in pinyin and pronounced like the English word sir, with a 4th or falling tone.

Be careful, not to use a 3rd tone as that would be 死, sǐ which means death! Many Chinese people avoid the number 4. For example, hóng bāo should not contain an amount of money that involves the number four. That would be considered very unlucky.

If you find yourself staying on the fourth floor of a hotel in room 444, then be careful.

The number four can also be easily be confused with the number ten, but we’ll say more about that another day.

三 –sān – three

The character for the number three follows a familiar pattern, it has exactly three horizontal strokes. Having seen one and two, you could almost have guessed what the character was going to look like, couldn’t you?

It is 三, written sān in pinyin and pronounced san with a 1st or high, level tone.

When you are learning individual words of Mandarin it can be very difficult to get the tones right. It is easier to learn the correct tones if you group a few words together and practice repeating them throughout the day.

So, remember…

yī is pronounced ee, with a 1st or level tone.
èr is pronounced ar, with a 4th or falling tone.
sān is pronounced san, with a 1st or level tone.

Now try saying them all together… yī èr sān.

Tomorrow we shall look at the number four, and I can tell you right now, it isn’t so easy to guess as one, two and three.

二 èr – two

Today we are going to learn how to read, write and say the number two in Mandarin Chinese.

The character 二, is written èr in pinyin and pronounced like the English word “are”, with a 4th or falling tone.

It is very similar to the number 一 yī – one, which we learnt yesterday, just that it has two strokes instead of one.

一 yī – one

The first number we shall learn is the number one.

It is a single stroke, very easy to learn and very difficult to forget.

The Mandarin Chinese character 一, is written as yī in pinyin and is pronounced ee, with a 1st or high, level tone.

Today's post was brought to you by Sesame Street...

...only kidding. ;)

New theme

We have taken a short break in the last few days here at the Mandarin Word of the Day blog, while we recover from the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Now, it’s time to move on to another theme and learn some more words.

We are going to learn some very common and useful characters. So let’s get started on our new theme of numbers in Chinese.

年糕 – nián gāo – New Year cake

Today’s first character is 年, nián meaning year.

年 Nián was one of the first words we learnt in connection with Chinese New Year.

We have also seen it in the phrase 新年快樂 – xīn nián kuài lè – Happy New Year.

Today’s second character is 糕, gāo meaning cake. gāo is also suggestive of prosperity.

Together 年糕, nián gāo means a special New Year cake made from sweet finely ground rice flour.

Nián is pronounced ni-yen, with a 2nd or rising tone.

gāo is pronounced gow to rhyme with cow. It has a1st or high, level tone.

元宵节 – yuán xiāo jié – Lantern Festival

Today is the Lantern Festival, also known as 元宵节 or yuán xiāo jié. It marks the end of the celebration of the Spring Festival. It is traditional to eat 汤圆 – tāng yuán – Rice flour dumplings on the day of the Lantern Festival.

The first character 元, yuán means the first or principal.

The second character 宵, xiāo means night.

The third character 节, jié means a festival, and we have seen this character before in 春节 - chūn jié – Spring Festival.

yuán is pronounced you-wan, with a 2nd or rising tone.

xiāo is pronounced she-ow to rhyme with meow, with a 1st or high, level tone.

jié is pronounced jee-air, with a 2nd or rising tone.

汤圆 – tāng yuán – Rice flour dumplings

Rice flour dumplings are made of glutinous rice and are served in soup.

The first character is 汤, tāng meaning soup or broth.

The second character is 圆, yuán meaning spherical or round. Clearly this character is not round! It certainly doesn't look like a dumpling.

tāng is pronounced tang, with a 1st or high, level tone.

yuán is pronounced you-wan with a 2nd or rising tone.

瓜子 – guā zǐ - Melon seed

Today’s first character is 瓜, guā meaning a melon.

The second character is one we learnt yesterday in 金橘子- jīn jú zi – Mandarin oranges.

Today it is with a different meaning and tone. It is 子, zǐ meaning a seed.

guā is pronounced gwah, with a 1st or high, level tone.

zi is pronounced dser, and has a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

Apparently melon seeds are a symbol of profuse earnings.

金橘子- jīn jú zi – Mandarin oranges

Mandarin oranges are a popular fruit during Chinese New Year.

The first character today is 金, jīn meaning gold.

The second character is 橘, jú meaning an orange or tangerine.

The third character 子, zi is used after a noun as a suffix. We have seen this character before in 饺子 – Jiǎo zi – Dumplings.

jīn is pronounced like gin, with a 1st or high level tone.

jú is pronounced jew with a 2nd or rising tone.

zi is pronounced dser, and is untoned.

鱼生 – yú shēng - Tossed raw fish salad

The first Mandarin character we are going to learn today is 鱼, yú meaning fish.

The second character is 生, shēng is one of those words that has many different meanings, but in this case it means raw.

Fish is usually eaten on the eve of Chinese New Year and it is considered appropriate at this time of year because the sound of the word fish, yú is also the sound of the word 餘, meaning surpluses. In eating fish at New Year people are wishing there will be surpluses all year.

yú is pronounced like the english word “you”, with a 2nd or rising tone.

shēng is pronounced shung, with a 1st or high, level tone.

扣肉 – kòu ròu – Steamed Pork Belly

kòu ròu is a steamed pork dish that is eaten during the Spring Festival. The pork is first fried, then sliced and steamed. It is a Hakka dish.

The first character 扣, kòu has many meanings including “to turn a cup over”. The meat is marinated in a clay pot which is turned over, and the meat is steamed.

The second character 肉, ròu means meat. If the kind of meat is not specified then it is pork.

kòu is pronounced koh, with a 4th or falling tone.

ròu is pronounced like roe, also with a 4th or falling tone.

天公 – tiān gōng – Jade Emperor

The ninth day of the Chinese New Year is a day when people pray to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven.

The character 天, tiān means heaven or sky.

The second character 公, has multiple meanings, one of which is a respectful way to address an old man.

Together the words天公, tiān gōng indicate the Jade Emperor.

tiān is pronounced tee-en, with a 1st or high,level tone.

gōng is pronounced gung, also with a 1st or high,level tone.

饺子 – Jiǎo zi – Dumplings

The first character 饺, – jiǎo means dumplings.

The second character 子, zi is used after a noun as a suffix.

jiǎo is pronounce jee-ow to rhyme with cow. It has a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

zi is pronounced zer, and is untoned.

jiǎo zi are steamed dumplings with meat or vegetable fillings.

人日 – rén rì – Everyone’s birthday

The seventh day of the Chinese New Year is everyone’s birthday, the day when everyone becomes one year older.

The first character 人, rén means a person. rén has a 2nd or rising tone.
We have seen this character before in 铁人三项 – tiě rén sān xiàng – Triathlon.

The second character is 日, rì meaning a day. It is pronounced rur, with a 4th or falling tone.

On this day it is traditional to eat 鱼生, yúshēng, a tossed raw fish salad.

紅包 - hóng bāo – red envelopes

It is a tradition during the Chinese New Year to give red envelopes containing money, these are particularly given to children.

The first character is 紅, hóng meaning red.

The second character is 包, bāo meaning an envelope.

hóng is pronounced hong, with a 2nd or rising tone.

bāo is pronounced bow, to rhyme with cow, and has a 1st or high, level tone.

破五 – pò wǔ – Fifth day of the New Year

The fifth day of the New Year is the day when it is traditional for businesses and shops to reopen.

It is also traditional to eat dumplings on this day.

The first character is 破, pò which means to split or break, as in breaking with the old and starting with the new. It is pronounced po with a 4th or falling tone.

The second character is one we have seen before. It is 五, wǔ meaning the number five. We have seen it in 现代五项 – xiàn dài wǔ xiàng – Modern Pentathlon

wǔ is pronounced woo, with the 3rd or falling and rising tone.

Together these characters indicate the fifth day of the Chinese New Year.

鼠 – shǔ – Rat

Today’s word is a single character, 鼠. The pinyin is shǔ, pronounced like shoe, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone. This character means rat or mouse.

2008 is the year of the Rat.

赤口 - chì kǒu – Inauspicious days!

Yesterday we learnt all about the importance of 拜年 – bài nián – New Year visits. However, today we learn that the third and fourth days of the Chinese New Year are considered to be inauspicious days for visiting because on these days there is a tendency for arguments to happen! The 3rd and 4th days are described as as 赤口, chì kǒu.

赤, chì is translated as bare or red. It is pronounced chur with a 4th or falling tone.

口, kǒu means mouth, and is pronounced “co” with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

Perhaps the strain of all that celebrating and visiting is starting to tell. It is possible that the literal translation “bare mouth” means people’s real feelings may come out... Be careful what you say!

拜年 – bài nián – New Year visits

Now the New Year has started it is time to visit relatives and friends. These visits are a large part of the traditional celebrations. For many people in China, migrant workers, working away from their home, it is the only time when they manage to visit.

The first character today is 拜, bài means to worship or to pay respects.

The second character is 年, nián meaning year. We have seen this character before in
新年快樂 – xīn nián kuài lè – Happy New Year!

拜, bài is pronounced “by”, with a 4th or falling tone.

年, nián is pronounced nee-yen, with a 2nd or rising tone.

正月 - zhēng yuè – New Year’s Day

The first character today is 正, zhēng meaning the first month of the lunar year. It is pronounced jung with a 1st or high, level tone.

The second character is 月, yuè meaning the moon. It is pronounced you-air, with a 4th or falling tone.

正月, zhēng yuè is the name given to the first day of the new year.

We would like to wish all our readers 新年快樂 – xīn nián kuài lè – Happy New Year.

除夕 – chú xī – New Year’s Eve

Today’s first character is 除, chú meaning to change or to remove, it is pronounced chew with a 2nd or rising tone.

The second character is 夕, xī which means “eve”. It is pronounced she with a 1st or high, level tone.

Together the characters imply the evening or night when the year changes. New Year's Eve is traditionally celebrated with a dinner that includes chicken and fish.

福 – fú – Good fortune

Today’s word is a single character 福, fú meaning good fortune, blessings or happiness. It is pronounced foo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

This character is usually seen hanging upside-down on doors. The word for upside down, 倒, dǎo is similar to 到, dào meaning to arrive. So, when it is hung upside down the character 福, fú symbolizes the arrival of happiness.

If you would like to support this blog, we have t-shirts and other items for sale in our online Mandarin Word of the Day shop at CafePress. These items feature the character fú upside-down, of course, and the Teddy bear is particularly cute.

恭喜发财 – Gōng xǐ fā cái – Congratulations and Be Prosperous

Today we have another traditional saying for the Chinese New Year. This is another phrase you can use to wish someone a happy new year.

The first two characters together 恭喜, gōng xǐ mean congratulations.

The first character 恭, gōng means to be respectful or reverent. gōng is pronounced gung with a 1st or high, level tone.

The second character is 喜, xǐ which can mean happy or delighted. xǐ is pronounced she, with a 3rd, or falling and rising tone.

The last two characters 发财, fā cái mean to become prosperous, or make a fortune.

The character 发, fā means to become, to develop or expand. fā is pronounced far, with a 1st, or high level tone.

The character 财, cái means wealth or money. cái is pronounced sigh with a 2nd or rising tone.

新年快樂 – xīn nián kuài lè – Happy New Year

The first character today is 新, xīn meaning new.

The second character is the one that we have already learned, 年 Nián meaning year.

The third character is 快, kuài meaning happy.

The fourth character is 樂, lè also meaning happy.

Altogether they mean Happy New Year! It's a little early to be using this phrase yet, but it's good to learn it in advance.

xīn is pronounced shin, with a 1st or high, level tone.

Nián is pronounced ni-yen, with a 2nd or rising tone.

kuài is pronounced k-why, with a 4th or falling tone.

lè is pronounced ler, also with a 4th or falling tone

年 Nián – year

There is a legend that in ancient China there was a man-eating beast called 年, Nián. It was a ferocious creature that would appear every twelve months, in spring, and eat people.

The villagers were scared and asked the advice of a wise old man. He told the villagers that the beast was frightened of the colour red. He told them to make loud noises, bang drums and let off firecrackers to frighten the beast away.

This was how the New Year celebrations came into being. The word Nián also means “year”.

Nián is pronounced ni-yen, with a 2nd or rising tone.

春节 - chūn jié – Spring Festival

With Chinese New Year approaching we’re going to tackle a new theme on the Mandarin Word of the Day blog. We will be learning Chinese words connected to the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

The first character today is 春, chūn meaning Spring. Chūn is pronounced chun, with a 1st or high, level tone.

The second character is 节, jié meaning a festival. Jié is pronounced jee-air, with a 2nd or rising tone.

The Spring festival is commonly called Chinese New Year in the West. Over the next few weeks, as the Spring Festival is celebrated we will be learning Mandarin words that relate to the fifteen day festival.