Everyday Chinese: Are you sleepy?
A daily routine is important for children. These expressions are for everyday use.
What is the simple bed time routine for your child? I remember that my kids enjoyed the bed time stories but they were never ready to go to bed even when they were very tired. For my preschool students, some of them were never ready for nap time. Are you sleepy? It’s time to go to bed? Are you tired? How about a story?
Keep this Everyday Chinese list close by for night time routine.
Teaching kids the routine expressions so you and the kids can use them daily.
English | pinyin | traditional Chinese – simplified Chinese
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Are you sleepy? | Nǐ xiǎng shuì jiào le ma? 你想睡覺了嗎？-你想睡觉了吗？This literally means “you want sleepy?”
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sleep | shuì jiào 睡覺-睡觉
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Are you tired? | Nǐ lèi le ma? 你累了嗎？ -你累了吗？It literally means “you tired?”
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tired | lèi 累
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It’s time to go to bed. | Shuì jiào shí jiān dào le. 睡覺時間到了。-睡觉时间到了。
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It’s quiet time. | Ān jìng shí jiān dào le. 安靜時間到了。-安静时间到了。
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quiet; be quiet | Ān jìng 安靜。-安静。This is a phrase that you can keep handy.
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It’s time to… | …shí jiān dào le. …時間到了。-…时间到了。 You can insert the desired action word at the beginning of the sentence to indicate it’s time to do something. This expression literally means “…time (has) arrived” in Chinese. Great phrase to practice and use every day.
Practice these words and expressions with pretend play. It’s a good activity for target language input. Take out your child’s favorite stuff animal or doll and start the fun. Which Everyday Chinese expression do you want to try first with your child today?
If you are a parent whose native language is not Chinese you can consider listening to “Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda!” audio album – it is now streaming on Amazon and Spotify in addition to its CD and MP3 format.
This is an audio album designed for parents whose native language is not Mandarin Chinese and who want to introduce basic Mandarin Chinese to the young kids (recommended for age 8 and under) in a playful, engaging, and interactive way. I use the Chinese English bilingual approach so you and your child can understand everything from the beginning. There is a companion learning guide to the album so you and your child can connect the spoken words with the written language.
Hope to see you and your little one in the program!
