Mandarin Monday – Vocab To Get You in the Christmas Spirit

Katie Coy | Dec 19, 2022 2:15 pm | Add a comment | 123 reads

It is now less than a week until Christmas and, in light of the holiday, we have some Christmas vocab to help get you in the Christmas spirit. Plus, if you’re also looking to get some last-minute Christmas decorations or presents doing a quick search for some of these Christmas items on delivery apps like Meituan Waimai can bring up some surprisingly fruitful results!

First up, Christmas in Chinese is 圣诞 shèngdàn, which literally translates to “holy birth”. Then if you’re talking about actual Christmas Day, 节 jié which means festival of holiday is added, making 圣诞节 shèngdàn jié. Christmas Eve then is 圣诞夜 shèng dàn yè, with 夜 yè meaning night. 

Now, what about Santa Claus in Chinese? You might think the translation would be a transliteration as is often the case with foreign names in Chinese, but actually it’s translated more literally. Santa Claus is 圣诞老人 shèngdàn lǎorén which means “Christmas old person”, which you’ll have to admit is a pretty funny way of thinking about it. 

For quite a lot of Christmas vocab, 圣诞 shèngdàn is simply added before a normal object in much the same way it is in English:

  • Christmas tree 圣诞树 shèngdànshù
  • Christmas presents 圣诞礼物 shèngdàn lǐwù
  • Christmas carols 圣诞颂歌 shèngdàn sònggē
  • Christmas songs 圣诞歌 shèngdàngē
  • Christmas card 圣诞贺卡 shèngdàn hèkǎ
  • Tinsel 圣诞装饰品 shèngdàn zhuāngshì pǐn
  • Christmas lights 圣诞灯饰 shèngdàn dēngshì
  • Christmas wreath 圣诞花环 shèngdàn huāhuán
  • Ornaments 圣诞彩球 shèngdàn cǎi qiú
  • Stockings 圣诞袜s hèngdàn wà

And here is some Christmas vocab that doesn’t have 圣诞 shèngdàn in it:

  • Jack Frost 杰克弗罗斯特 Jiékè fú luósī tè
  • Mistletoe 槲寄生 hú jìshēng
  • Nutcracker  胡桃夹子 Hútáo jiázi
  • Reindeer 驯鹿 xùnlù
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 红鼻驯鹿鲁道夫 Hóngbíxùnlùlǔdàofū
  • Snowflake 雪花 xuěhuā
  • Snowman 雪人 xuěrén

Finally, let’s move on to one of the best parts of Christmas, Christmas food and drink!

  • Candy cane 拐杖糖 guǎizhàngtáng
  • Christmas Pudding 圣诞布丁 shèngdàn bùdīng
  • Eggnog 蛋酒 dàn jiǔ
  • Gingerbread house 姜饼屋  jiāng bǐng wū
  • Ham 火腿 huǒtuǐ
  • Hot chocolate 热巧克力 rèqiǎokèlì
  • Mince pie 圣诞馅饼 shèngdàn xiànbǐng
  • Mulled cider 热苹果酒 rè píngguǒ jiǔ
  • Mulled wine 热红酒 rè hóngjiǔ
  • Nougat 牛轧糖 niú gá táng
  • Panettone 节日糕点 jiérì gāodiǎn
  • Turkey 火鸡  huǒ jī

Hopefully, that’s gotten you all in the Christmas spirit, so from us here at the Beijinger, Merry Christmas 圣诞快乐 shèngdàn kuàilè!

READ: Good Tidings of Christmas Meals and Deals, Pt. 3

Images: Unsplash