Essential Chinese - Philip Yungkin Lee Essential Phrasebook and Dictionary Series

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dǎrǎo/qǐngwù chùmō

      please do not disturb/touch

      1.8 Legal holidays

      • Apart from Chinese New Year which is celebrated throughout China with two weeks off from work, other holidays are mostly observed in the cities with time off to celebrate the festivities. There are two types of festivals, traditional and modern.

      The former follow the lunar calendar which identifies the months sequentially as the First Month, the Second Month, etc. Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival varies every year but falls between the last 10 days of January and the first 10 days of February each year.

      Modern holidays are historically linked to the New China with National Day (October 1) and Labor Day (May 1) heading the list. National Day and Labor Day are each celebrated with a week off work when people are encouraged to spend and go for holidays in an attempt to stimulate the economy. On these occasions, government institutions and head offices of banks are closed for business. However, local bank branches are open for about 5 hours a day for 1 to 3 days. Shopping centers are open till midnight while supermarkets and medium-sized shops keep normal opening hours. Local shops and convenience stores vary, some trading for fewer hours during the holidays.

      January 1: New Year’s Day Xīnnián/Yuándàn 新年/元旦

       [Yīyuè yīhào]

      January/February: Chinese New Year Chūnjié 春节

       (Lunar Calendar: First Day of the First Month)

       [Nónglì Zhēngyuè yīrì]

      January/February: Lantern Festival Yuánxiāojié 元宵节

       (Lunar Calendar: Fifteenth Day of the First Month)

       [Nónglì Zhēngyuè shíwǔrì]

      March 8: Women’s Day Fùnǚjié 妇女节

       [Sānyuè bāhào]

      April 5: Festival of Sweeping Ancestors’ Graves Qīngmíngjié 清明节

       [Sìyuè wǔhào]

      May 1: Labor Day Láodòngjié 劳动节

       [Wǔyuè yīhào]

      May 4: Youth Festival Qīngniánjié 青年节

       [Wǔyuè sìhào]

      June 1: Children’s Day Értóngjié 儿童节

       [Liùyuè yīhào]

      June: Dragon Boat Festival Duānwǔjié 端午节

       (Lunar Calendar: Fifth Day of the Fifth Month)

       [Nónglì Wǔyuè wǔrì]

      July 1: Foundation Day of Chinese Communist Party Jiàndǎngjié 建党节

       [Qīyuè yīhào]

      August 1: Foundation Day of the People’s Liberation Army Jiànjūnjié 建军节

       [Bāyuè yīhào]

      Mid-Autumn: Mid-Autumn Festival Zhōngqiūjié 中秋节

       [Nónglì Bāyuè shíwǔrì]

      October 1: National Day Guóqìngjié 国庆节

       [Shíyuè yīhào]

      1.9 Telephone alphabets

      • The phonological system of Mandarin Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, can be represented by letters. Twenty five letters of all the letters of English alphabet are used for Pinyin. Letter “v” is not used, while letter “ü” is added to represent the vowel sound “yü.” Below is how Pinyin may sound like in terms of English pronunciation. All rules given here in terms of English pronunciation are approximations, as several of these sounds do not correspond directly to sounds in English.

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Pinyin English Examples (Meaning)
ao now 到 dào (arrive)
b bee 白 bái (white)
c (i)ts 藏 cáng (hide)
ch ch 茶 chá (tea)
d day 地 dì (earth)
e her 这 zhè (this)
ei day 背 bèi (the back)
er err 儿 ér (son)
f far 饭 fàn (meal)
g good 狗 gǒu (dog)
h how 行 háng (row)
i eat 你 nǐ (you)
ian yen 电 diàn (electricity)
ie yes 裂 liè (crack)
iu you 丢 diū (lose)
j jeep 家 jiā (home)
k key 看 kàn (see)
l lay 蓝 lán (blue)
m my 米 mǐ (uncooked rice)
n nine 能 néng (energy)
o awe 破 pò (broken)
ou low 豆 dòu (bean)
p pea 怕 pà (scare)
q cheer 请 qǐng (please)
r rat 人 rén (people)