Yajie: Perfect Chinese your way, in only five minutes a day. It’s nice to be here again. Welcome to Chinese Studio on China Radio International. I’m Yajie.
Cam: Hi, I’m Cam. 早上好 zǎoshang hǎo, yajie.
Yajie: 早上好！Last time we learned how to congratulate someone when he or she is celebrating a birthday. Cam, do you still remember how to say it in Chinese?
Cam: Yes, it’s祝你生日快乐！Happy Birthday!
Yajie: Well, today we’ll learn some new expressions used during the Spring Festival, which is considered to be the most important festival in China. First let’s check our key words of the day!
************Key words of the day
Today we’ll expressions of congratulating someone during the Spring Festival. 祝你春节快乐/ 祝你全家幸福！／祝你万事如意！／恭喜发财! All in today’s Chinese Studio.
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Cam: Ok first, how do you say Spring Festival in Chinese?
Yajie: It’s 春节 (Chūn Jié).
Cam: 春节 (Chūn Jié).
Yajie: Yes. 春 means the spring. 春, the first tone. And 节 means festival. 节 , j-i-e, the second tone. Actually people celebrate it at the beginning of spring. Together春节 is the Spring Festival.
Cam: 春节 (Chūn Jié). Then can I say祝你春节快乐(zhù nǐ chūnjié kuàilè)！to greet Chinese people during the Spring Festival?
Yajie: Yes, you can. Like祝你生日快乐!, you can say祝你春节快乐！to those who are celebrating the Spring Festival.
Cam: Ok. 祝你春节快乐(zhù nǐ chūnjié kuàilè)！
Yajie: As we mentioned last time祝你 is used to express good wishes, sometimes with the implication of “congratulating in advance”. 祝, z-h-u, zhù, the forth tone.
Cam: If someone says 祝你春节快乐(zhù nǐ chūnjié kuàilè) to me, how should I answer?
Yajie: Well, you could say谢谢！春节快乐! Thanks. Happy Spring Festival! Or you could say谢谢！同乐，同乐！同乐 means “you too”. 同 means together. 乐is short for 快乐, which means happiness!
Cam: 同乐，同乐！It’s like during our Christmas holiday. When somebody says Merry Christmas, you can say, “you too!” But it’s interesting that Chinese people say “tong le” two times.
Yajie: Yes, like we learned before, Chinese people would say nalinali twice. It’s just for the emphasis.
Yajie: You can also say祝你全家幸福, I wish happiness for your whole family!
Cam: 祝你全家幸福！(zhù nǐ quánjiā xìngfú!)
Yajie: 全家 means the whole family. 全, the whole, q-u-a-n, the second tone. 家, family, j-i-ā, the first tone.
Cam: 全家(quánjiā), the whole family.
Yajie: 幸福, happy. 幸, x-i-n-g, the fourth tone; 福, f-u, the second tone.
Cam: Then what’s the answer to祝你全家幸福！(zhù nǐ quánjiā xìngfú)?
Yajie: The answer is 谢谢！也祝你全家幸福！ Thank you. I also wish your whole family happiness! 也means also.
Yajie: Another expression is 祝你万事如意！It means “All the best!”
Cam: 祝你万事如意! (zhù nǐ wànshì rúyì!)
Yajie: 万, is actually a number, ten thousand. 万, w-a-n, the fourth tone. 事 means thing. 事, s-h-i, also the fourth tone. So in Chinese, ten thousand things stand for everything.
Cam: 万事(wànshì)
Yajie: 如意 means comply with one’s wishes.
**********Key words reminder
Today we’ve learned the expressions of congratulating someone during the Spring Festival. 祝你春节快乐! Happy Spring Festival! 祝你全家幸福, I wish your entire family happiness! 祝你万事如意！All the best! 恭喜发财I wish you a prosperous new year.
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Cam: yes. Well, the mandarin is now my focus, so let me try this one.恭喜发财！(gōngxǐ fācái!)
Yajie: Well, that wraps up this edition of Chinese Studio. If you keep practicing, you can definitely use it well when next spring festival comes. Well, last but least, it’s time for our question of the day: How do you say “All the best” in Chinese?
