Archive 2009 12

Under the 2009 blanket, the sleeper’s feet stick out; the 2010 blanket has a new piece stitched on, long enough to cover them. That is a happy new year: 新年快乐.

新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) means “Happy New Year.” 新年 is “new year” and 快乐 means “happy.” The same 快乐 is in 生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè), Happy Birthday.

新年快乐 works on January 1 and at the Lunar New Year. January 1 itself is 元旦 (Yuándàn); at the Lunar New Year people also say 春节快乐 (Chūnjié kuàilè) or 过年好 (guònián hǎo).

新年快乐！ — Xīnnián kuàilè! — Happy New Year!

祝你新年快乐。 — Zhù nǐ xīnnián kuàilè. — I wish you a happy New Year.

An astronaut on the moon holds an American flag, but a yellow flag with a coiled snake is already planted there, with a little snake on top of the pole. That is a 蛇.

蛇 (shé) means “snake.” The left side, 虫, is the “bug” radical, found in many characters for creatures. Count snakes with 条 (tiáo): 一条蛇.

蛇 is one of the twelve zodiac animals. The most recent Year of the Snake, 蛇年 (shé nián), began in January 2025.

我怕蛇。 — Wǒ pà shé. — I’m afraid of snakes.

草里有一条蛇！ — Cǎo lǐ yǒu yì tiáo shé! — There’s a snake in the grass!

On a traffic island in a busy street, with cars rushing past, a kid crouches over his book: “doing homework at street.” That is 作业.

作业 (zuòyè) means “homework” or “assignment.” 作 means to do and 业 means work or a task.

To do homework is 做作业 (zuò zuòyè) or 写作业 (xiě zuòyè). The full word for homework is 家庭作业 (jiātíng zuòyè).

我还没做完作业。 — Wǒ hái méi zuò wán zuòyè. — I haven’t finished my homework yet.

今天老师没留作业。 — Jīntiān lǎoshī méi liú zuòyè. — The teacher didn’t give any homework today.

An ostrich has buried its whole head in the ground, leaving only a body, two legs and a neck going into the dirt. The hidden part is its 头.

头 (tóu) means “head.” It is also in 头发 (tóufa), hair, literally “head hair.”

头 is the measure word for some big animals: 一头牛 (yì tóu niú), one cow. A headache is 头疼 (tóu téng) or 头痛 (tóu tòng).

我头疼。 — Wǒ tóu téng. — I have a headache.

他摇了摇头。 — Tā yáo le yáo tóu. — He shook his head.

A long trail of sand drifts through the air and pours back into an hourglass. For sand, the hourglass is home, sweet home: 家.

家 (jiā) means “home,” “house” or “family.” The top part, 宀, is a roof, and the part under it, 豕, is an old character for pig.

To go home is 回家 (huí jiā). 我家 (wǒ jiā) can mean “my home” or “my family.”

我要回家了。 — Wǒ yào huí jiā le. — I’m going home now.

欢迎来我家！ — Huānyíng lái wǒ jiā! — Welcome to my home!

Two guys sit side by side watching a movie, both stuffing their faces with popcorn. Movie night means 爆米花.

爆米花 (bàomǐhuā) means “popcorn.” 爆 means to burst or pop, 米 is rice or grain, and 花 is flower: “popped grain flowers.”

A bucket of popcorn is 一桶爆米花 (yì tǒng bàomǐhuā).

看电影的时候，我喜欢吃爆米花。 — Kàn diànyǐng de shíhou, wǒ xǐhuan chī bàomǐhuā. — I like eating popcorn at the movies.

我们买一大桶爆米花吧。 — Wǒmen mǎi yí dà tǒng bàomǐhuā ba. — Let’s get a big bucket of popcorn.

A clock with a bow on top sits next to a man with a big bump on his head, because a clock is a traditional no-no as a present in China. Pick a different 礼物.

礼物 (lǐwù) means “gift” or “present.” 礼 means courtesy or ritual, and 物 means thing.

A gift is counted with 份 (fèn): 一份礼物. Clocks are traditionally avoided as gifts, because 送钟 (sòng zhōng), “give a clock,” sounds the same as 送终 (sòngzhōng), to attend someone at the end of life.

这是送给你的礼物。 — Zhè shì sòng gěi nǐ de lǐwù. — This is a present for you.

谢谢你的礼物！ — Xièxie nǐ de lǐwù! — Thank you for the gift!