星期

xīngqī

今年

jīnnián

多大

duō dà

你今年几岁?

Nǐ jīnnián jǐ suì?

How old are you (this year)?

"You this-year how-many-years-old?"

您多大年纪了?

Nín duō dà niánjì le?

"You (respectful), how great in age?"

您 Formal "you" (showing respect)

多大 "How old" (lit. "how big")

年纪 "Age" (emphasizes life experience, often for adults)

了 Softens the tone, making it more conversational

"You (respectful), how many years (of age)?"

您 Formal "you" (showing respect)

多大 "How old" (lit. "how big")

岁数 "Age" (neutral term for years lived)

了 Softens the tone, making it conversational

to like, to love

喜 "joy," "happiness," or "delight"

欢 "cheerful," "merry," or "enthusiastic"

喜 alone can mean "joy" but lacks the active connotation, 欢 alone implies outward cheerfulness but not sustained affection

How about it?

What do you think?

怎么 how

样 appearance, type, kind

再见!

zàijiàn

Goodbye!

literally “See you again!”

Thank you!

谢 to thank

我们

wǒmen

we, us

我 I / me

们 a plural marker for people or pronouns

晚上

wǎnshang

evening, night

晚 "late" or "night"

上 "up" or "above"

Together, they literally mean "the late-up" → referring to the early part of the nighttime period (i.e., evening)

早上

zǎoshang

morning

"Early-up"

下午

xiàwǔ

afternoon

"Down-noon"

现在

xiànzài

now; at present

现 "to appear," "to manifest" (from 见 jiàn "to

     see" + 王/玉 yù "jade" → "jade's visible glow")

在 "to exist at a location", "to be present," or "at

     a location" (depicts a plant growing from soil

     土, emphasizing concrete presence)

现在 — What is visible (现) and present (在) at this very moment.

thing, matter

事 "matter," "affair," or "business"

儿 literally means "child" but functions as a diminutive/noun suffix in Northern dialects (especially Beijing Mandarin)

 啥事儿

Shá shìr?

昨天 zuótiān

今天 jīntiān

明天 míngtiān

yesterday

today

tomorrow

一样 yíyàng

这样 zhèyàng

那样 nàyàng

same

this way

that way

why

"for (为)+ what (什么)"

那太好了

nà tài hǎole

to know

认 to recognize, to admit, to acknowledge

识 to know, knowledge, understanding

认识 rènshi

知识 zhīshi

常识 chángshí

to know

knowledge

common sense

朋友

péngyǒu

很忙 hěn máng

我很忙  Wǒ hěn máng
我非常忙 Wǒ fēicháng máng.

very busy

I am busy

I am very busy

我忙。  Sounds unnatural (like saying "I busy")! Mandarin adjectives require a degree adverb (很, 太, 非常) to function as predicates!

新年

xīnnián

New Year

情人节

qíngrén jié

母亲节

mǔqīn jié

快乐

kuàilè

happy, joyful

"quick delight" + "abiding joy" = holistic happiness

快  "fast," "quick"

乐  "joy," "happiness," "music"

The fusion of 快 + 乐 captures two dimensions of happiness: The excitement and spontaneity of joy (e.g., a sudden laugh), the lasting, inner satisfaction (e.g., lifelong fulfillment).

快乐 covers both the fleeting and sustained aspects of happiness.

week

"ceremonial worship" or "ritual bowing"

礼  ritual, ceremony, manners, etiquette

拜  to worship, to pay respect, to bow, to visit

     someone formally

matter

affair

something (to do)

joy

happiness

delight

to appear

to manifest

to exist at a location

to be present

festival

joint

I

we

rite

ritual, ceremony

gift

to worship

to pay respect

many

much

very

stubborn

straightforward 

always

often

frequently

very

"extraordinary" "not ordinary"

period

century

discipline

cause

because of

reason

to

act as

for

feeling

emotion

great

too, very

extreme

what

(dialect)

late

night

shape

appearance

way

to recognize

to know

to recognize

to understand

to know

to know

to be aware

to comprehend

always

often

common

fast

quick

joy

happiness

music