The Story of Pocket Money for Children on Lunar New Year’s Day

压岁钱的故事 (Yāsuìqián de gùshi) The Story of Pocket Money for Children on Lunar New Year’s Day
Listen to the story
Key Learning Points (Preview):
哭 (kū): v to cry
宝贝 (bǎobèi): n/v baby/ take sth/ sb as treasured one 　
告诉 (gàosù): v to tell 　
Gǔ shíhou, yǒu yìgè xiǎoyāo jiào “Suì.”
古 时候， 有 一个 小妖 叫 “祟”。
In ancient times, there was a demon called “evil spirit.”

Tā xǐhuan zài chúxī wǎnshàng yòng shǒu mō háizi de tóu.
他 喜欢 在 除夕 晚上 用 手 摸 孩子 的 头。 　
He loved to touch the heads of children on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Bèi tā mō guò de háizi jiù huì dàkū, tóuténg fārè, zuìhòu biànchéng le shǎzi.
被 他 摸 过 的 孩子 就 会 大哭， 头疼 发热，最后 变成 了傻子。
Children touched by him were scared to cry; then they developed a headache, followed by a fever, and eventually turned into a fool.

Suǒyǐ, měi nián chúxī, měi yì jiā dōu liàng zhe dēng bú shuìjiào, zhè jiàozuò
所以， 每 年 除夕， 每 一 家 都 亮 着 灯 不 睡觉， 这 叫做
“shǒu Suì.”
“守 祟”。
Therefore, every family had lights on throughout the night, and this was called: “protection from the evil spirit.”

Yǒu yì jiā fūqī hěn bǎobèi tāmen de xiǎo’ érzi.
有 一 家 夫妻 很 宝贝 他们 的 小 儿子。 　
There was a couple who took their young son as their treasured one.

Chúxī yèwǎn, tāmen bùjīngyì de jiāng bā méi tóngqián yòng hóng zhǐ bāo
除夕 夜晚， 他们 不经意 地 将 八 枚 铜钱 用 红 纸 包
qǐlái, fàngzài shúshuì de háizi de zhěntou xiàmian.
起来，放在 熟睡 的 孩子 的 枕头 下面。
They put eight coins in a red wrap, and placed it below the child’s pillow casually on New Year’s Eve.

Bànyè “Suì” gāng yào qù mō háizi de tóu, zhěntóu biān jiù fāchū shǎnguāng,
半夜 “祟” 刚 要 去 摸 孩子 的 头， 枕头 边 就 发出 闪光，
xiàdé “suì” táopǎo le.
吓得 “祟” 逃跑 了。
When the “evil sprit” was about to touch the child’s head, the eight coins below the boy’s pillow sent out bright light which scared the “evil spirit” away.

Yuánlái bā méi tóngqián shì bāxiān biànde, ànzhōng lái bǎohù háizi de.
原来 八 枚 铜钱 是 八仙 变的， 暗中 来 保护 孩子 的。 　
In fact, the eight coins were actually the eight immortals who had secretly assumed the shape of coins to protect the children.

Yīnwèi “Suì” yǔ “suì” tóngyīn, zhīhòu zhújiàn yǎnbiàn wéi “yāsuìqián.”
因为 “祟” 与 “岁” 同音， 之后 逐渐 演变 为 “压岁钱”。 　
Because the “evil spirit” and “year” share the same pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese, it gradually began to be called “Pocket money for children on lunar New Year’s Day.”


Key learning points:

哭 (kū): v to cry
The character “哭 (kū)” means to cry.
Example:
Zài guò chūnjié de shíhou, xiǎoháizi búyào kū, yào xiào.
在 过 春节 的 时候， 小孩子 不要 哭， 要笑。
Children are encouraged to laugh instead of crying during the Chinese New Year.
宝贝 (bǎobèi): n/ v baby/ take sth/ sb as treasured one
The character “宝 (bǎo)” means precious and “贝 (bèi)” means shell.
Examples:
Bǎobèi, māma míngtiān dài nǐ qù gōngyuán wán.
宝贝， 妈妈 明天 带 你 去 公园 玩。 　
Baby, mom would like to take you to the park tomorrow.
Tā hěn bǎobèi tā nà bǎ jiujítā.
他 很 宝贝 他 那 把 旧吉他。 　
He takes his old guitar as his treasured one.
告诉 (gàosù): v to tell
Both the character “告 (gào)” and “诉 (sù)” mean to tell.
Example:
Tā gàosù wǒ míngtiān kěnéng huì xiàyǔ.
他 告诉 我 明天 可能 会 下雨。 　
He told me that it might rain tomorrow.
生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary
孩子(háizi): n child
枕头(zhěntóu): n pillow
保护(bǎohù): v to protect

Happy Tiger Year (Hu Nian Kuai Le) - 虎年快乐!

Advanced Level 高级(gāojí)
“虎年大吉 good luck in the year of the tiger,” the year 2010 is coming up and many are preparing for the New Year’s celebrations. What is the Chinese pinyin for “虎年大吉 good luck in the year of the tiger?”
A. Cái yuán guǎng jìn
B. Xīn nián kuài lè
C. Hǔ nián dà jí
D. Xīn xiǎng shì chéng

Happy New Year (Xin Nian Hao) - 新年好！

Origin of 元旦(yuándàn) New Year’s Day

“元旦(yuándàn) New Year’s Day” has a three thousand-year history in China. In ancient times, “元旦(yuándàn)” was the “农历(nónglì) lunar calendar” new year—today’s “春节(chūnjié ) Spring Festival.” Since the founding of the new China, with the aim of distinguishing the “农历(nónglì) lunar calendar” and the “阳历(yánglì) Gregorian calendar,” the lunar new year was renamed as “春节(chūnjié) Spring Festival” and Gregorian January 1 was named “元旦(yuándàn) New Year’s Day.” From then on, “元旦(yuándàn) New Year’s Day“ became a new convivial festival across the whole country. Today, New Year’s Day is a “法定假日(fǎdìng jiàrì) statutory holiday“ in China. During this festival, people wish each other good luck in the New Year and send each other New Year’s cards as a gift.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary

元旦(yuándàn) n New Year’s Day

“元旦(yuándàn) New Year’s Day” refers to the beginning of the year. “元(yuán)” means beginning or first. “旦(dàn)” means morning or day. In fact, “旦(dàn)” is a pictographic character. The part above “日(rì) day” represents sun and the other part “一(yī) one” stands for horizon. So this character conveys a meaning that the sun is rising gradually from the horizon. When “元(yuán)” and “旦(dàn)” are combined together, they mean the first day of the “新年(xīnnián) New Year.”

Example:

元旦到了，祝你在新年里万事如意。
Yuándàn dào le, zhù nǐ zài xīnnián lǐ wànshìrúyì.
New Year’s Day is coming, I wish you good luck in the New Year.

农历(nónglì): n lunar calendar

阳历(yánglì): n Gregorian calendar

春节(chūnjié): n Spring Festival

法定假日(fǎdìng jiàrì): n statutory holiday

新年(xīnnián): n New Year

Beginner Level 初级(chūjí)
The first day of a year is called New Year’s Day in English. Do you know how to say New Year’s Day in Chinese?
A. 春节(chūnjié)
B. 元旦(yuándàn)
C. 中秋(zhōngqiū)
D. 元宵(yuánxiāo)

Bargaining - 讨（Tao）价（Jia）还（Huan） 价(Jia)

Dialogue Text:
【Dialog】(repeat twice and slowly) (Tones are the numbers in the parenthesis)
老外： 这条围巾多少钱？(How much does this scarf cost?)
Zhe(4) Tiao (2) Wei (2) Jin(1) Duo (1) Shao (3) Qian (2)?

小贩：50块。(50 yuan)
Wu (3) Shi (2) Kuai (4)

老外： 太贵了，能不能便宜点儿？(Too expensive, can’t it be a little cheaper?)
Tai (4) Gui (4) le (1), Neng (2) Bu (4) Neng (2) Pian (2) Yi (1) Dian (3) Er (1)?

小贩：30块怎么样？ (How about 30 yuan?)
San (1) Shi (2) Kuai (4) Zen (3) Me (1) Yang (4)?

老外： 好吧，我要一条。(O.k. I want one.)
Hao (3) Ba (1), Wo (3) Yao (4) Yi (1) Tiao(2).

【Explanation】
Salesperson: When you bargain with venders, you can say "太贵了，能不能便宜点儿?" to ask a discount. When you have got a discount, but you want to get more, you can say "能不能再便宜点儿？" it means "can you make it lower than that?"
Laowai: 能不能再便宜点儿？If I want know the lowest price, how can I say that Chinese?
Salesperson: You can say "最少多少钱？" "最少" means "at least". Sometimes, the venders may say "最少40块。" "the bottom price is 40 yuan."
Laowai: Can I give the venders a price when bargaining?
Salesperson: Of course, you can. You can say "30块怎么样", "how about 30 yuan？"
Laowai: Meimei, how about 30 yuan for a scarf? 贵吗？
Salesperson: 一条围巾30块。I think it is fine with me.
Laowai: I will buy it at 30 yuan. Thank you for teaching me so much.
Salesperson: 不客气。

海龟窝 － Sea Turtle Nest (Hai Gui Wo)

海龟窝 － Sea Turtle Nest (Hai Gui Wo)

Two turtle nests are found in front of my student's house, and it's wonderful to see they are well protected.

Liang Zhi (two) Hai Gui Wo (turtle nests) Zai (at) Wo De (my) Xue Sheng De Fang Zi Qian Mian (in front of my student's house).

两只海龟窝在我的学生房子前面。

Wo Hen Gao Xing (I am very pleased) Ta Men (them) Bei Bao Hu Hao Le (are well protected).
我很高兴它们被保护好了.

窝22号 (Wo 22 Hao) - Nest #22	窝19号 (Wo 19 Hao) - Nest #19

Learn calendar - Year 年, Month 月, Day 日

August （八月- Ba Yue）2009（二零零九年 - ErLingLingJiuNian）
Sun. XingQiRi:星期日	Mon. XingQiYi:星期一	Tu. XingQiEr:星期二	Wed. XingQiSan:星期三	Thu.XingQiSi:星期四	Fri. XingQiWu:星期五	Sat. XingQiLiu:星期六
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

About China

China, full name is the People's Republic of China, is located in the east of Asia, reaching to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of around 9.6 million square kilometers.
The relief of China descends from west to east. The Himalayas, which are situated in southwest of China, is the highest mountain range in the world. Its highest peak, Everest which reaches 8,848 meters above the sea level, is also the top of the world. The Yangtze River and the Yellow River are the two major rivers in China. They both rise in the Tibet Plateau in the west of China and run eastwards into the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, the Chinese people often say "water running eastwards" (一江春水向东流- yi jiang chun shui xiang dong liu) to mean that things just happen naturally.

长江- Chang Jiang
黄河 - Huang He

PinYin Review VIII

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

ang	发音时，由a开始，接着向发ng的状态过渡。
	Pronounce "a" first and gradually turn to "ng".
eng	发音时，由e开始，接着向发ng的状态过渡。
	Pronounce "e" first and gradually turn to "ng".
ing	发音时，由i开始，接着向ng的状态过渡。
	Pronounce "i" first and gradually turn to "ng".
ong	发音时，由o(介于o和u之间的一个音)开始，然后舌根上升，软腭下降，发后鼻音ng。
	Pronounce "o" (pronounced as something between "o" and "u") first, then raise the root of your tongue, lower down the soft palate and pronounce "ng".

PinYin Review VII

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

an	发音时，由前元音ā开始，过渡到n的状态。
	Pronounce "a" first and gradually turn to "n".
en	发音时，由元音e开始，向发n的状态过渡。
	Pronounce "e" first and gradually turn to "n"
in	发音时，舌尖抵住下齿背，发元音i，接着舌尖上抵住上齿龈，过渡到n的状态，动力程很短。
	Put the tip of your tongue against the back of the lower teeth and pronounce "i", then move the tongue tip and put it agaist the upper gum and gradually turn to "n".
un	发音时，先发较短的u，然后过渡到en。
	Pronounce a shorter "u" and gradually turn to "en".
ün	发音时，先发圆唇音ü，然后向发n的状态过渡，动程很短。
	Pronounce "ü" first, then gradually turn to "n".

PinYin Review VI

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

ai	发音时，口大开，先发前低元音a，然后口渐闭，舌位向发i的状态过渡。
	Open your mouth wide and pronounce "a" first; then gradually close your mouth and move the tongue to the position of pronouncing "i".
ei	发音时，口半闭，先发e，然后舌位向发i的状态过渡。
	Half-close your mouth and pronounce "e" first, then move your tongue to the position of pronouncing "i".
ui	发音时，先发一个轻短的u，舌位渐升，到ei为止。
	Pronounce a light and shorter "u" first, then gradually raise your tongue to the position of "ei".
ao	发音时，口大开，先发a，然后口渐闭，舌位向发u的状态过渡。
	Open your mouth widely and pronounce "a" first, then gradually close your mouth and move your tongue to the position of pronouncing "u".
ou	发音时，先发元音o，然后口渐闭，舌位后移、上升，向发u的状态过渡。
	Pronounce "o" first, then gradually close your mouth, move the tongue backward and upward to the position of pronouncing "u".
iu	发音时，先发一个较短的i，舌位渐升，到ou为止。
	Pronounce a shorter "i" first, then gradually raise your tongue to the position of pronouncing "ou".
ie	发音时，由i开始，舌位渐降，到e为止。
	Pronounce "i" first, then gradually raise your tongue to the position of pronouncing "e".
üe	发音时，由ü开始，舌位渐降，到e为止。
	Pronounce "ü" first, then gradually lower your tongue to the position of pronouncing "e".
er	发音时，舌位居中，在发e的同时，舌尖对着硬腭往上一卷即可。
	When pronouncing "er", the tongue is in the middle. Pronounce "e" and roll up your tongue tip toward the hard palate.

PinYin Review V

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

y	发音时，舌位最高，口腔开口度很小，唇形呈扁平状，舌头前伸使舌尖抵住下齿背，双唇展开。
	When pronoucing "y", the tongue is in the highest position, the mouth is slightly opened and the lips are flat-shaped. Stretch forward your tongue, put it against the back of the lower teeth and open up your lips.
w	发音时，舌位最高，口腔开口度很小，双唇拢圆，舌头后缩，使舌根接近软腭。
	When pronoucing "w", the tongue is in the highest position and the mouth is slightly opened. Make your lips round-shaped, draw back your tongue and make the tongue root approach the soft palate.

PinYin Review IV

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

zh	发音时，舌尖上翘抵住硬腭前部，较弱的气流突破阻碍形成窄缝，并从中挤出而发声。
	Move upwards the tip of your tongue and put it against the front hard palate; then make weaker breath break through the obstruction and
ch	发音的情况同zh基本相同，只是从窄缝中挤出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "zh", with stronger breath squeezing out from the chink.
sh	发音时，舌尖上翘接近硬腭前部，中间留有窄缝，气流从窄缝中挤出而发声。
	Move upward the tip of your tongue and make it approach the front hard palate, with a narrow chink left; pronounce with the breath squeezing out from the chink
r	发音的情况同sh基本相同，只是声带颤动。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same as "sh" except for the vocal cords vibration.
z	发音时，舌尖向前平伸，抵住上齿背，较弱的气流突破阻碍形成窄缝，并从中挤出而发声。
	Stretch forward the tip of your tongue and put it against the back of the upper teeth; then make weaker breath break through the obstruction and form a narrow chink from which the breath will be squeezed out.
c	发音的情况同z基本相同，只是从窄缝中挤出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "Z", with stronger breath squeezing out of the chink.
s	发音时，舌尖向前平伸，接近上齿背，中间留有窄缝，气流从窄缝中挤出而发声。
	Stretch forward the tip of your tongue and make it approach the back of the upper teeth, with a narrow chink left; pronounce with the breath squeezing out from the chink.

PinYin Review III

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

g	发音时，舌根抵住软腭，较弱的气流突破阻碍而发声。
	Put the root of your tongue against the soft palate, pronounce with weaker breath breaking through the obstruction.
k	发音的情况同g基本相同，只是透出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "g", with stronger breath going out
h	发音时，舌根接近软腭，中间留有窄缝，气流从窄缝中挤出而发声。
	Approach the soft palate with the root of your tongue, with a narrow chink left; pronounce with the breath squeeze out of the chink.
j	发音时，舌面前部向上向前，抵住硬腭前部，舌尖下垂，较弱的气流突破阻碍形成窄缝，并从中挤出而发声。
	Move upward and forward the front part of your tongue surface and put it against the front hard palate, then hang down the tip of your tongue, make weaker breath break through the obstruction and form a narrow chink from which the breath will be squeezed out.
q	发音的情况同j基本相同，只是从窄缝挤出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "j", with stronger breath squeezed out of the chink.
x	发音时，舌面前部向上向前，接近硬腭前部，中间留有窄缝，气流从窄缝中挤出而发声。
	Move upward and forward the front part of your tongue surface and make it approach the front hard palate, with a narrow chink left; pronounce with the breath squeezing out from the chink.

PinYin Review II

PinYin review information retrieved from www.learningchinese.org.

b	发音时，双唇紧闭，口腔蓄气，然后气流冲破双唇阻碍，在口腔发生共鸣而发声。
	Close tightly your lips with air in your mouth; then the breath break through your lips and make resonance inside the oral cavity.
p	发音的情况和b基本相同，只是透出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "b", with stronger breath going out.
m	发音时，双唇紧闭，软腭下垂打开鼻腔通路，声带颤动，气流从鼻腔透出而发声。
	Close your lips tightly and open the nasal path by hanging down the soft palate. Make your vocal cords vibrate and the breath go out from your nose.
f	发音时，上齿轻触下唇，气流从双唇齿缝中挤出而发声。
	Use the upper teeth touch the lower lip slightly and the breath will be squeezed out from the seam between the teeth and the lip.

d	发音时，舌尖抵住上齿龈，较弱的气流突破阻碍而发声。
	Put the tip of your tongue against the upper gum, pronounce with weaker breath breaking through the obstruction.
t	发音的情况同d基本相同，只是透出的气流较强。
	The pronunciation method is more or less the same with "d", with stronger breath going out.
n	发音时，舌尖抵住上齿龈，软腭下垂打开鼻腔通路，声带颤动，气流从鼻腔通过而发声。
	Put the tip of your tongue against the upper gum, open the nasal path by hanging down the soft palate. Make your vocal cords vibrate and the breath go out from your nose.
l	发音时，舌尖抵住上齿龈，声带颤动，气流由舌前部两边通过而发声。
	Put the tip of your tongue against the upper gum, make your vocal cords vibrate and the breath go out from both sides of front part of your tongue.

About PinYin

PinYin was created in 1958 and was created to help one to read Chinese easily. It uses 26 Latin letters, and it looks almost like English. However, the pronunciations are slightly different.

a, o, e, i, and u are called finals (单韵母，dan yun mu) and like vowels.

b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s are called initials.


There are four tones in Chinese PinYin.