Mandarin Dialogue 2 English and Mandarin

Mandarin dialogue 2 English and Mandarin

Nick: Hi Lily. Lily: nǐ hǎo, Nick. (Hello, Nick. 你好，Nick.)

Nick: Lily, what’s your favourite festival? Lily: wǒ zuì xǐ huān de jié rì shì chūn jié. (My favourite festival is Spring Festival. 我最喜欢的节日是春节。)

Nick: Oh, your favourite festival is Chinese New Year. Is that like our New Year? Lily: en……shì de…… xiāng sì……. (Hmmm… Yes… Similar… 是的...... 相似...... )

Nick: Oh, it’s similar. And when do you celebrate Chinese New Year? Lily: zài dōng tiān. (In winter. 在冬天。)

Nick: So you normally celebrate it in winter: either in January or February. And who do you celebrate it with? Lily: hé wǒ de jiā tíng, wǒ de bà bà, mā mā, gē gē, mèi mèi. (With my family, my dad, mum older brother and younger sister. 和我的家庭，我的爸爸、妈妈、哥哥、妹妹。)

Nick: Oh, so like here in England, you celebrate it with your family: your dad, your mum, your older brother and your younger sister. And what kind of things do you eat? Lily: wǒ men tōng cháng chī dàn gāo hé táng guǒ. (We normally have cake and sweets. 我们通常吃蛋糕和糖果。)

Nick: So at Chinese New Year, you eat cake and sweets. And do you have balloons, candles and cards, like we do here in England? Lily: duì. wǒ men yǒu qì qiú, là zhú hé kǎ piàn. (Correct. We have balloons, candles and cards. 对，我们有气球、蜡烛和卡片。)

Nick: And…is it true that Chinese age starts counting before you are born? Lily: duì. (Correct. 对。)

Note: chūn jié (春节) = Spring Festival = Chinese New Year