The most important word to learn is shèng dàn 圣诞, which means “birth of Jesus Christ” or “Christmas”. Then add jié 节, the Chinese word for “festival” as in Zhōng qiū jié 中秋节 (Mid-Autumn Festival).
Chinese: 圣诞节你有什么打算?
Pinyin: Shèngdànjié nǐ yǒu shénme dǎsuàn?
English: What are your plans for Christmas?
Christmas Eve - Píng ān yè 平安夜
Píng ān yè 平安夜 can be translated as “Silent Night”, “Peaceful Night”, and is the word used in Chinese for Christmas Eve.
Chinese: 平安夜，钟声敲响了祝福。
Pinyin: Píng ān yè, zhōng shēng qiāo xiǎng le zhùfú.
English: On Christmas Eve, the bells ring for blessing.
Shèng dàn lǎo rén 圣诞老人 - Santa Claus
To say the word “Santa Claus” you combine the words shèng dàn 圣诞 (Christmas) with lǎo rén 老人 (old man).
Chinese: 我托圣诞老人给你送去我的祝福。
Pinyin: Wǒ tuō shèngdàn lǎorén gěi nǐ sòngqù wǒde zhùfú.
English: I have asked Santa to send you my blessings.
shèng dàn kǎ 圣诞卡 - Christmas card
To say “Christmas card” in Chinese, you first say shèng dàn 圣诞 (Christmas), and then kǎ 卡 (card).
Chinese: 每张圣诞卡上都承载着美好的祝福.
Pinyin: Měi zhāng shèngdànkǎ shàng dōu chéngzàizhe měihǎode zhùfú.
English: Every Christmas card brings good wishes.
xuě rén 雪人 - snowman
Here you combine the Chinese word xuě 雪 (snow) with rén 人 “person”, and we get “snow person” or snowman.
Chinese: 冬天，跟家人一起堆雪人是最开心的事情。
Pinyin: Dōngtiān, gēn jiārén yīqǐ duī xuěrén shì zuì kāixīn de shìqíng.
English: In the winter, making a snowman with the family is what makes us happiest.
shèng dàn kuài lè 圣诞快乐 - Merry Christmas
In Chinese, it is common to say shèng dàn kuài lè 圣诞快乐, without using jié 节 (Festival) in the greeting, when saying Merry Christmas. Kuàilè 快乐 simply means “to be happy” or “merry”, and is used in greetings when wishing someone a “Happy / Merry ….+ time-period”.
You can wish someone a Merry Christmas in Chinese by putting zhù nǐ 祝 你 (wish you …) before shèng dàn kuài lè 圣诞快乐.
Then there is only one thing left to say:
Zhù nǐ 祝 你 (wish you …) shèngdàn kuàilè 圣诞快乐 (Merry Christmas), and xīnnián kuàilè 新年快乐 (Happy New Year)!
DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE MANDARIN CHINESE OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO?
If you want to learn Mandarin Chinese, feel free to REGISTER FOR A FREE TRIAL CLASS HERE or send me an email (Chen Huimin): huimin@laerkinesisk.no.
We offer private lessons and group classes at all levels, HSK 1-6, children, adults, business. All Mandarin Chinese classes are offered in classrooms or online.
Do you know anyone who wants to learn Chinese? We will give you 500 US dollars as a bonus as a part of our program “Refer a friend – get $ 500” if your friend or others you introduce to us start taking Chinese classes at our school.Register here if this is interesting for you!
