How to Say ‘Why is the character 'fortune' put up upside down?’ in Traditional Chinese
為什麼「福」字倒著貼？
wèi shén me fú zì dào zhù tiē
[wèishénme fú zì dào zhe tiē]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: Asking this is a great way to show interest, and hosts usually love explaining the tradition. Expect the answer to be a play on words.
Phrase Breakdown
為什麼
wèi shén me
[wèishénme]
why
Question word asking for a reason.
你為什麼哭？
Why are you crying?
「福」字倒著貼？
fú zì dào zhù tiē
is the character 'fu' stuck upside down?
福 (fú) means 'good fortune', and 字 (zì) means 'character'. 倒著貼 (dàozhe tiē) means 'stuck upside down'.
門上有一個「福」字。
There is a 'fu' character on the door.
Words in this phrase
福
fú
[fú]
good fortune; blessing
The character for luck and happiness, often displayed at New Year.
祝你新年多福。
Wishing you many blessings this New Year.
字
zì
[zì]
character, word
Refers to a Chinese character or writing.
這張字由殘劍親手寫成。
This piece of calligraphy was written by Broken Sword himself.
倒
dào
[dào]
upside down; inverted
Turned the opposite way, with the top at the bottom.
這張照片倒過來了。
This photo is upside down.
著
zhù
[zhe]
indicating continuous action
This particle is used to indicate continuous action or state.
他站著看書。
He is standing and reading.
貼
tiē
[tiē]
to paste; to stick
To attach something flat, like paper, onto a surface.
門上貼了一個紅紙。
A red paper was stuck on the door.
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