Speak Mandarin Campaign Learning Resources: Fun Facts 讲华语运动学习资源：趣味知识 农历新年装饰与习俗 / Chinese New Year decorations and customs
装饰 zhuāng shì / Decorations 1. 春联 chūn lián Couplets 2. 银柳 yín liǔ Pussy Willows 3. 灯笼 dēng long Lanterns
习俗 xí sú / Customs 1. 团圆饭 tuán yuán fàn Reunion Dinner 2. 大扫除 dà sǎo chú Spring Cleaning 3. 守岁 shǒu suì Staying Up 年菜 / Chinese New Year dishes and their Auspicious meanings
1. 鱼 yú / Fish 与“余”同音，象征年年有余。 yǔ “yú” tóng yīn，xiàng zhēng nián nián yǒu yú. “鱼 Fish” and“余 abundance” are homonyms. The dish symbolises having abundance year after year.
2. 发菜 fā cài / Hair Moss 音似“发财”, 象征财源滚滚 yīn sì “fā cái”，xiàng zhēng cái yuán gǔn gǔn “发菜 Hair moss” and “发财 to make a fortune” are similar in pronunciation. The dish symbolises wealth and prosperity.
3. 年糕 nián gāo / Chinese New Year Cake “糕”与“高”同音, 象征步步高升 “gāo”yǔ“ gāo”，xiàng zhēng bù bù gāo shēng. “糕 Cake” and “高 tall” are homonyms. The dish symbolises to rise steadily. Meaning 新年祝语 / Chinese New Year Greetings: 成语 Idioms 意思（中文） 健康 Health (English) Describes the 龙马精神 形容精神健旺、充沛 state of being lóng mǎ xíng róng jīng shén jiàn wàng、 healthy and jīng shén chōng pèi energised Wishing good 祝贺老年人身体健康，子孙吉利 康强逢吉 health to the zhù hè lǎo nián rén shēn tǐ jiàn kāng qiáng elderly and good kāng，zǐ sūn jí lì féng jí fortune for the young 幸福长寿，健康安宁 福寿康宁 Happiness and xìng fú cháng shòu， fú shòu longevity; health jiàn kāng ān níng kāng níng and tranquility
脸上放出光彩， 容光焕发 形容身体健康精神饱满。 To glow with good róng guāng liǎn shàng fang chū guāng cǎi， health huàn fā xíng róng shēn tǐ jiàn kāng jīng shén bǎo mǎn
富贵安康 吉祥幸福、平安健康 Rich in happiness, fù guì jí xiáng xìng fú 、 píng ān jiàn peace and health ān kāng kāng Meaning 新年祝语 / Chinese New Year Greetings: 成语 Idioms 意思（中文） 财富 Wealth (English) 形容事情顺利， Describes 马到功成 一开始就取得胜利 achieving success mǎ dào xíng róng shì qíng shùn lì， smoothly from the gōng chéng yī kāi shǐ jiù qǔ dé shèng lì start
财源广进 形容从四面八方收到财富 To receive plentiful cái yuán xíng róng cóng sì miàn bā fang wealth guǎng jìn shōu dào cái fù
生意兴隆 买卖兴旺，业务蒸蒸日上 Have a thriving shēng yì mǎi mài xīng wàng， business xīng lóng yè wù zhēng zhēng rì shàng
大大发展宏伟的计划， 大展宏图 To execute grand 祝贺开业 dà zhǎn plans, usually for dà dà fā zhǎn hóng wěi dè jì huá hóng tú new businesses ，zhù hè kāi yè
To have a 鹏程万里 前程兴旺远大，不可限量 prosperous and péng chéng qián chéng xīng wàng yuǎn dà， boundless future wàn lǐ bù kě xiàn liàng ahead
招财进宝 招来财气，以发财致富 Welcome wealth zhāo cái zhāo lái cái qì，yǐ fā cái zhì fù and riches jìn bǎo Meaning 新年祝语 / Chinese New Year Greetings: 成语 Idioms 意思（中文） 学业与工作 School & Work (English)
学业有成 学业有成就 To succeed in xué yè xué yè yǒu chéng jiù studies yǒu chéng
锦绣前程 形容前途十分美好 Describes a good jǐn xiù xíng róng qián tú shí fēn měi hǎo future qián chéng
步步高升 形容地位提高得快而顺利 Smooth and fast bù bù Xíng róng dì wèi tí gāo de kuài ér rise to eminence gāo sheng shun lì
谓提升了官职， 升官发财 就能获得更多的物质财富 To get promotion shēng guān Wèi tí sheng le guān zhí, and have more fā cái jiù néng huò dé gèng duō de wù wealth zhí cái fù
平步青云 比喻社会地位陡然大幅度上升 To have a quick píng bù bǐ yù shè huì dì wèi dǒu rán dà fú and successful qīng yún dù shàng shēng promotion Meaning 新年祝语 / Chinese New Year Greetings: 成语 Idioms 意思（中文） 学业与工作 School & Work (English)
阖家安康 全家平安和健康 Wishing the family hé jiā quán jiā píng ān hé jiàn kāng safe and healthy ān kāng
金玉满堂 形容财富极多，也形容学识丰富 Describes rich in jīn yù xíng róng cá ifù jí duō, wealth and mǎn táng yě xíng róng xué shì fēng fù knowledge
年年有余 每年都有多余的财富及食粮 To have excess nián nián měi nián dōu yǒu duō yú de cái fù wealth and food yǒu yú jí shí liáng every year
岁岁平安 每年都能够平安幸福好运 May there be suì suì měi nián dōu néng gòu píng ān peace all year píng ān xìng fú hǎo yùn round
To have five 五福指：长寿、富贵、康宁、好德、 五福临门 blessings: 善终 wǔ fú longevity, wealth, Wǔ fú zhǐ: cháng shòu, fù guì, lín mén health, kindness kāng níng, hǎo dé, shàn zhōng and peace 压岁钱的由来 / How did Red Packets come about In the past, there was a monster named “Sui” that appears on the eve of Chinese New Year to scare children, resulting in fevers and headaches. An old couple, wanting to prevent “Sui” from disturbing their child, gave their child eight coins to play with and when the child fell asleep, they kept the coins in a red packet and placed it under the pillow. In the middle of the night, “Sui” appeared, but as he reached out to touch the child’s head, there were flashes of light emitting from the pillow. The old couple spread the news on how the red packet with coins scared the monster away and eventually it became a practice. It was said that the legendary Eight Immortals became the coins to protect the child. 人日的由来 / 7th day of Lunar New Year 传说女娲创造苍生，顺序造出了鸡、狗、猪、羊、牛、 马，并于第七日造出人来。故此，初七为人的生日。
It was said that, Nüwa, a goddess in Chinese mythology, created life in the following sequence: chicken, dog, pig, sheep, cow, horse and humans. As such, the 7th day of Lunar New Year is known as human’s birthday. 亲戚关系 / Paternal Family Relationships 华文称呼 Address in English
表兄弟姐妹(不同姓氏) Cousins biǎo xiōng dì jiě mèi (with different surnames) 堂兄弟姐妹 (相同姓氏） Cousins táng xiōng dì jiě mèi (with same surname) 姑姑 gū gu Aunt (father’s sister) 姑丈gū zhàng Uncle (aunt’s husband) 伯父 bó fù Uncle 叔叔 shū shu (father’s brother) 伯母 bó mǔ Aunt (uncle’s wife) 婶婶 shěn shen 奶奶 nǎi nai Grandmother
爷爷 yé ye Grandfather
舅公 jiù gōng Granduncle 伯公 bò gōng 叔公 shū gōng 姨婆 yí pó Grandaunt 姑婆 gū pó 太公 tài gōng Great-grandfather
太婆 tài pó Great-grandmother 亲戚关系 / Maternal Family Relationships 华文称呼 Address in English
表兄弟姐妹 Cousins biǎo xiōng dì jiě mèi 阿姨 ā yí Aunt (mother’s sister) 姨丈 yí zhàng Uncle (aunt’s husband) 舅舅 jiù jiu Uncle (mother’s brother) Aunt (uncle’s wife) 舅母 jiù mǔ 外婆 wài pó Grandmother
外公 wài gōng Grandfather
舅公 jiù gōng Granduncle 伯公 bò gōng 叔公 shū gōng 姨婆 yí pó Grandaunt 姑婆 gū pó 太公 tài gōng Great-grandfather
太婆 tài pó Great-grandmother 闰年 / Leap Year
每隔4年有1个闰年。公元年数除以四得尽便是闰年。 一年里有约365.25天。累积而成，第四年便有多一天， 为2月29日。因此，闰年有366天。 měi gé 4 nián yǒu 1 gè rùnnián.gōngyuán niánshù chú yǐ sì dé jǐn biàn shì rùn nián. Yì nián lǐ yǒu yuē 365.25 tiān. Lěi jī ér chéng，dì sì nián biàn yǒu duō yì tiān，wéi 2 yuè 29 rì. Yīn cǐ，rùn nián yǒu 366 tiān.
About Leap Year Leap Year occurs every 4 years. Divide the calendar year by 4, with no remainder to calculate the year of this occurrence. To be exact, there are 365.25days in a year. In the fourth year, there will be an additional day, 29th February. Therefore, Leap Year has 366 days in a year. 柑橘橙 / Oranges
柑 gān 橘 jú 橙 chéng
体积 中 小 大 tǐ jī zhōng xiǎo dà Relative Medium Small Large Size 形状 球形稍扁 球形稍扁 圆形 xíng qiúxíng qiúxíng yuán xíng zhuàng shāo biǎn shāo biǎn Shape Spherical Spherical Spherical but slightly but slightly flat flat 颜色 黄色 红黄色 红黄色 yán sè huáng sè hòng hòng Colour Yellow huáng sè huáng sè Reddish - Reddish - yellow yellow
味道 甜 甜 酸甜 wèi dao tián tián suān tián Taste Sweet Sweet Sour-sweet 童玩 / Childhood Games
谜题 / Riddle 谜面 / Answer
Hopscotch 的华文名称 跳飞机 Hopscotch in Chinese tiào fēi jī 以前人们得争相到民众俱乐部 电视 看 ,如今，家家糊糊几乎都有一 diàn shì 台 Television People used to crowd at the community centres to watch ______，but there’s one in every home now 以前流动报摊租卖的读物 连环书 Mobile newsstand used to sell this lián huán shū publication Comic books 童玩 / Childhood Games
谜题 谜面
一项运动，用脚踢 毽子 A form of sport, played on legs Jiànzi Capteh 麦当劳、肯德鸡、汉堡王等；如今 快餐 小孩都喜爱 Kuàicān McDonald’s, Kentucky, Burger Fast food King; kids’ favourites 如今人们看演唱会，以前的人看 。 街戏 Today, we watch concerts. In the jiē xì past people used to watch ____. Street opera 这电子产品不电脑更轻便，孩子都 平板电脑 喜欢用它看视频 píng bǎn This electronic product is lighter diànnǎo than a computer. Kids love to watch Tablet videos with it. 新加坡美食饮料 / Singapore Food Gourmet
English Chinese
椰浆饭 Nasi Lemak Yē jiāng fàn
炒萝卜糕 Carrot Cake chǎo luó bo gāo
沙爹 Satay shā diē
叻沙 Laksa lè shā
珍多 Chendol zhēn duō
炒福建面 Hokkien Mee chǎo fú jiàn miàn 新加坡美食饮料 / Singapore Food Gourmet
English Chinese
乌打 Otah wū dǎ
马来炒面 Mee Goreng mǎ lái chǎo miàn
辣椒螃蟹 Chilli Crab Là jiāo pang xiè
罗惹 Rojak luō rě
甘蔗汁 / 甘蔗水 Sugarcane Gān zhe zhī / Gān zhe shuǐ 游泳招式 / Swimming Strokes
English Chinese
Butterfly stroke 蝶泳 diéyǒng Backstroke 仰泳 yǎngyǒng Breaststroke 蛙泳 wāyǒng Freestyle 自由泳 zìyóu yǒng Sidestroke 侧泳 cè yǒng Medley relay 混合泳接力 hùnhé yǒng jiēlì 交通工具 / Public Transport Vehicles
English Chinese
Car 汽车 qìchē Truck 卡车 kǎchē Taxi 德士 déshì Bus 巴士 bāshì Van 货车 huòchē 电子产品 / Electronic Products
English Chinese
Laptop 手提电脑 shǒu tí diàn nǎo Smartphone 智能手机 zhì néng shǒu jī Mouse 滑鼠 huá shǔ Thumbdrive U-盘 U-pán Memory card 储存卡 / 记忆卡 chǔ cún kǎ / jì yì kǎ Wifi 无线网络 wú xiàn wǎng luò Printer 打印机 dǎ yìn jī 万圣节 / Halloween
English Chinese
Magic / Sorcery 魔法 mó fǎ The Walking Dead 行尸走肉 xíng shī zǒu ròu Zombie 僵尸 jiāng shī Dress up 装扮 zhuāng bàn Sweet and Candy 糖果 táng guǒ Pumpkin 南瓜 nán guā Witch 女巫 nǚ wū 万圣节 / Halloween
English Chinese
Bat 蝙蝠 biān fú Black cat 黑猫 hēi māo Owl 猫头鹰 māo tóu yīng Elf 小精灵 xiǎo jīng líng Fictional character 虚构人物 xū gòu rén wù Frankenstein 科学怪人 kē xué guài rén 圣诞节 / Christmas
胡 桃 钳 | Nutcracker hú táo qián
s/n English Chinese
常见的圣诞装饰 Popular Christmas 1 cháng jiàn de sheng decoration dàn zhuāng shì
源自德国民间传说 Originated from 2 yuán zì dé guó mín German folklore jiān chuán shuō
经典芭蕾剧；该剧音乐 Classic ballet piece 由柴棵夫斯基创作 3 with scores composed jīng diǎn bā lěi jù; gāi by Tchaikovsky jù yīn yuè yóu chái kē fu sī jī chuàng zuò 圣诞节 / Christmas
槲 寄 生 | Mistletoe hú jì shēng
s/n English Chinese
半寄生植物 1 Partial parasite bàn jì shēng zhí wù
传说在槲寄生下接吻的 Kissing under the 情侣会受到庇佑， mistletoe signifies a 终身幸福美满 promise to marry, as chuán shuō zài hú jì 2 well as a prediction to shēng xià jiē wěn de happiness and long qíng lǚ huì shòu dào bì life. yòu, zhōng shēn xìng fú měi mǎn 圣诞节 / Christmas
圣 诞 颂 歌 | Christmas Carol shèng dàn song gē
s/n English Chinese
歌词以圣诞为主题的歌 Songs or hymns 曲 1 whose lyrics are on the gē cí yǐ sheng dàn wéi theme of Christmas zhǔ tí de gē qǔ
查尔斯.狄更斯的中篇 A novella by Charles 小说 2 Dickens chá ěr sī dí gèng sī de zhōng piān xiǎo shuō 圣诞节 / Christmas
圣 诞 节 前 后 | Before and after Christmas shèng dàn jié qián hòu
s/n English Chinese
平安夜 1 Christmas Eve píng ān yè
圣诞节 2 Christmas Day shèng dàn jié
节礼日 3 Boxing Day jié lǐ rì