Everyday Chinese: I am happy!
Feelings and emotion expressions are high-frequency words for every day. Are you happy? Are you sad? Teaching kids about feeling words so they can use them when there is a need.
Children enjoy acting. Simon Says is a game you can play with this topic. There are many activities you can incorporate to practice the feeling words.
“Do you see a happy face?” I ask the students. “Look around you and count all the happy faces you see…” I continue with a big grin on my face. When you do acting your child can detect the playfulness. “What does a face look like when someone is angry?”
Take pictures of your child with different facial expressions and use them for practice. Ready, set, action! Here are key everyday Chinese expressions about feelings and emotions you can use with your child.
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I am …(add a feeling word here)…| wǒ 我
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Are you…? | nǐ…ma? 你…(add a feeling word here)…嗎? – 你…吗?
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happy | kuàilè。 快樂。 -快乐。 It is one of the most commonly used words for “happy” in Mandarin Chinese. As you and your kid learn the Chinese “Happy Birthday” song. This is the word that you will hear repeatedly.
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There are two more Chinese words for “happy” that are Chinese people use on a regular basis. They are…
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happy| kāi xīn 開心。 -开心。This expression literally means “open heart.”
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happy| gāo xìng 高興。 -高兴。The word by word translation is “high excitement.”
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sad | shāng xīn。 傷心。 -伤心。This literally means “hurt heart.”
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angry | shēng qì。 生氣。 -生气。Here is a fun one when you look at each character. It literally means “grow steam.” Visualize this expression with white smoke coming out of someone’s head in a comic way. Do I see a smile?
Everyday Chinese expressions can sometimes be visualized and they help learners to understand and remember the words with meanings and images.
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Are you happy?｜nǐ kāi xīn ma? 你 開心 嗎? -你 开心 吗? You can replace “happy” with other happy words and feeling words easily.
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I am happy. | wǒ kāi xīn。我開心。-我开心。
Ask your child to show you a happy face!
Now, replace “happy” with “sad” and “angry.” Have fun playing with everyday Chinese feelings words and expressions! Which expressions are you starting today?
photo by pixabay.
