Basic dates: Discussing birthdays

💬 Chinese dates go from the biggest unit to the smallest: year, then month, then day. That is the opposite of "8 March".

💬 Weekdays are 星期 (xīngqī) "week" plus a number, so Friday is "week-five". 下个 (xià ge) "next" goes in front, and 上个 (shàng ge) "last" works the same way.

💬 Adding 吗 (ma) to the end of any statement turns it into a yes/no question. 真的 (zhēn de) means "it's true", and 真的吗 means "is it true?"

💬 The pattern 快……了 means something is about to happen. Put an action between the two parts: 快下雨了 "it's about to rain".

💬 When 过 (guò) is used with a birthday or holiday, it means "to spend" or "to celebrate" it. For example, 怎么过年 means "how do you spend New Year".

💬 Time words like 晚上 (wǎn shang) go near the front of the sentence, before the verb, never at the end the way they often do in English.

💬 In 跟……一起, you put the person between the two parts, and the whole phrase goes before the verb. For example, 跟妈妈一起 means "together with Mom".

💬 饭 literally means "cooked rice", but 吃饭 means having any meal, whether or not rice is involved.

🇨🇳 Birthdays in China are often celebrated with a group meal at a restaurant. The birthday person usually pays the bill.

💬 Putting 吧 (ba) at the end of a sentence softens it into a friendly suggestion or invitation rather than an order.

💬 Adding 啊 (a) after 好 makes the reply sound warmer and more eager than a flat 好.

💬 The part of the day comes before the hour: 早上八点 "8 a.m.", 下午三点 "3 p.m.".

💬 In Chinese, the place comes first and 旁边 (páng biān) goes after it, which is the reverse of "next to the school". For example, 银行旁边 means "next to the bank".

💬 In Chinese, the description comes first, then 的 (de), then the thing being described. English often puts the description after the thing.

💬 一定 (yídìng) is read (yí), not (yī), because 一 changes tone before the falling tone of 定.

🇨🇳 Accepting an invitation with 一定 signals real commitment. A vaguer reply like 看看吧 "we'll see" is often a polite way of saying no.

💬 祝你 (zhù nǐ) "wish you" works with many good wishes: 祝你新年快乐 "Happy New Year", 祝你好运 "good luck".

🇨🇳 Wishing someone a happy birthday early is normal and friendly in China. It doesn't carry the bad-luck feeling it can have in some other cultures.

💬 When 那 (nà) starts a sentence, it means "then" or "in that case". It wraps up a plan you've just agreed on.

💬 Add 见 (jiàn) after any time word to say goodbye: 明天见 "see you tomorrow", 晚上见 "see you tonight".