It goes without saying that everyone in the world has a birthday and different people have different ways to mark this milestone. Some love to keep the event low-key. whilst others love to celebrate in a big way! Whichever way you choose, it’s helpful to know how to talk about the event…
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) How to discuss planning a birthday celebration
(ii) To make some suggestions about what to do for a special event
Dialogue: Two colleagues are planning a celebration for another colleague:
在商店里
(zài shāng diàn lǐ) (at the shop)
A:哎你说，咱们今年怎么给小丽过生日啊？
Āi nǐ shuō, zán men jīn nián zěn me gěi xiǎo lì guò shēng rì a?
Hey, how are we going to celebrate Xiaoli’s birthday this year?
B:去KTV吧，唱个通宵！
Qù KTV ba, chàng ge tōng xiāo!
Go to KTV, sing all night long!
A：唉呀，每次都是KTV，你不腻啊？
Āi ya, měi cì dōu shì KTV, nǐ bù nì a? KTV every time… aren’t you tired of it?
B:那你说呢？ Nà nǐ shuō ne? What do you think?
A：现在天气这么好，咱们别在室内了。去郊外办个烧烤生日派对怎么样？
Xiàn zài tiān qì zhè me hǎo, zán men bié zài shì nèi le. Qù jiāo wài bàn ge shāo kǎo shēng rì pài duì zěn me yàng?
The weather is so nice recently, we should not stay indoors. How about holding a barbecue birthday party in the countryside?
B:嗯，这主意不错！就这样定了！
Ēn, zhè zhǔ yì bù cuò! Jiù zhè yàng dìng le!
A great idea! Let’s do it!
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
你说：what’s your opinion
过生日：celebrate the birthday for someone
今年：this year
KTV：karaoke bar
通宵：all night long
每次：every time
腻：be tired of
看腻了：have seen (or done) so many times and get tired of it
天气：weather
现在：recently
咱们：we
室内：indoor
办：hold/organise
郊外：suburb
烧烤：barbecue
生日派对：birthday party
主意：idea
订了：finalised/a deal
Facebook Planning a birthday surprise and working out what’s the best thing to do are talked about in Learn Mandarin Now Podcast 133. You can learn about new topics every day, if you listen to our Podcasts five days a week, making studying Mandarin Chinese so much enjoyable as you are talking about things you are really interested in!
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