“Happy birthday!”: shēng  rì  kuài  lè!（生日快乐！） “Happy birthday to you!”: zhù  nǐ  shēng  rì  kuài  lè!（祝你生日快乐！） Sometimes people make fun of close friends by replacing the first character, zhù (祝, wish), with zhū (猪, pig), so the sentence becomes: “Happy birthday to you, pig!”: zhū  nǐ  shēng  rì  kuài  lè!（猪你生日快乐！） Happy birthday to myself 🙂 Subscribe in […]

“Happy New Year!” (General): xīn  nián  kuài  lè!（新年快乐！） “Happy New Year!” (After the New Year has started): xīn  nián  hǎo!（新年好！） The following phrase, getting rich, is frequently used in conjunction with Happy New Year in Southern China: gōng  xǐ  fā  cái!（恭喜发财！）(Mandarin) gong hei fat choy! （恭喜发财！）(Cantonese) Subscribe in iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-chinese-expressions/id582096185

General ways to say “How are you recently?”: zuì  jìn  hǎo  ma?（最近好吗？） nǐ  zuì  jìn  hǎo  ma?（你最近好吗？） nǐ  zuì  zěn  yàng?（最近怎样？） nǐ  zuì  ké  hǎo?（最近可好？） Between close friends it is common to say “What are you up to these days?”: zuì  jìn  máng  shen me?（最近忙什么？） To flater someone, you can ask “Where are you getting […]

The formal way to address a Chinese man: xiān  sheng (先生), literally Mr. Can be combined with the person’s family name, e.g. Chén  xiān  sheng  (陈先生), meaning Mr. Chen. Informal ways to greet a Chinese man: gē  gē (哥哥), literally brother; or gě  gé (written as GG, cute way of saying brother).  Used by girls. Can be flirtitious. dà  gē (大哥), […]

Never greet a Chinese woman as xiáo  jiě (小姐). It is literally miss, but implies prostitute. The most fashionable way to greet a Chinese woman is: měi  méi (often written as MM, literally pretty). A flattering way to address a woman is: méi  nǚ (美女, literally pretty woman). A polite way to address an elder woman is: nǚ  shì […]