Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching. In China, many North American expats like to have a Thanksgiving meal with their friends, classmates or colleagues and the like.
Despite the fact locating that elusive Turkey might be not so easy in many parts of China, they can still be found in the super cities like Shanghai and Beijing for example. Turkeys can be found in international supermarkets, but roasted turkeys can be ordered and will need to be delivered.
Before getting stuck into our Thanksgiving meal, let’s learn the words we need to know to speak Chinese like a pro.
The Key Vocab
- The Chinese word for Thanksgiving Day is 感恩節/感恩节 (Gǎn’ēn jié) = 感恩 to feel gratitude, to feel thankful + 節/节 holiday
- Our Chinese friends may well ask 你怎麼慶祝感恩節? /你怎么庆祝感恩节？(Nǐ zěn me qìng zhù gǎn’ēn jié) = How will you celebrate Thanksgiving?
- 慶祝 / 庆祝 qìng zhù = to celebrate
- In reply, we could say 我要和家人團聚 / 我要和家人朋友团聚。(Wǒ yào hé jiā rén péng yǒu tuán jù) = I’m going to spend time with my family and friends.
- 團聚/团聚 tuán jù = to reunite
- We can also invite our friends along 你會加入我們的感恩節大餐嗎? / 你会加入我们的感恩节大餐吗？(Nǐ huì jiā rù wǒ men de gǎn’ēn jié dà cān ma) = Will you join us for our Thanksgiving feast?
- 加入 ji ārù = to join
- 大餐 dà cān = feast
Some useful phrases that pop up in most households during Thanksgiving are:
- 美式足球比賽 / 美式足球比赛 (měi shì zú qiú bǐ sài) American football match
- 你會看足球比賽嗎? / 你会看足球比赛吗？(nǐ huì kàn zú qiú bǐ sài ma?) Will you watch the football game?
- 我總是和家人一起觀看遊行 / 我总是和家人一起观看游行 (wǒ zǒng shì hé jiā rén yī qǐ guān kàn yóu xíng) I always watch the Thanksgiving parade with my family
- 遊行 / 游行 yóuxíng = parade
Get learning these in preparation for the big day and impress your Chinese friends, whilst enjoying that delicious Turkey!
This week, LTL Mandarin School, have provided us with a guide on knowing more about the Thanksgiving holiday. This blog has been written by Marie from LTL.
