Summer-related Chinese vocabulary in daily life

The days are getting longer, the temperature is getting higher and higher and school is finally out. This could only mean one thing…summer! In this article, we will learn useful summer-related Mandarin Chinese vocabulary, as well as how to correctly apply them in daily conversation.

VOCABULARY LIST:

(xià tiān) _夏天 = "Summer"

船(Chuán) = "Boat"

(Shā tān) _沙滩 = "Beach"

•"沙" means "sand"

•"滩" means "field by the water"

•All together, a sandy field by the water = beach

A tip from our Chinese tutors: There are many compound words in Mandarin Chinese that make complete sense as a sum of its parts. See the following words for some more examples.

墨镜 (mò jìng) = "Sunglasses"

•"墨" means "dark ink"

•"镜" means "glass"

•All together, glasses that are stained with dark ink = sunglasses

高温 (gāo wēn) = "High Temperature" 

•"高" means "tall" or "high"

•"温" stands for "温度," (Wēndù) which means temperature

•All together, 高温 = high temperature; similarly 低温 (Dīwēn) means low temperature

空调 (kòng tiáo) = "Air conditioner"

•"空" stands for "空气" (Kōngqì), which means "air"

•"调" means "to adjust"

•All together, 空调 = adjusting the air, which is how the air conditioner functions, cooling or heating the air to change the room’s temperature

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 度假 , 暑假, AND , 寒假?

(dù jià) _度假 – "度" means "to pass." "假" stands for "假期," which means vacation or holiday. All together, "度假" means "to take vacation." It is used as a verb.

暑假(shǔ jià) – "暑" means "summer heat." "假" stands for "假期." All together, 暑假 = "summer vacation." It is a noun.

寒假 (hán jià) – "寒" means "winter cold." "假" stands for "假期." All together, 寒假 = "winter vacation." It is also a noun.

Please note that "假" here is read in the fourth tone "jià" and not the third tone "Jiǎ." When read in the third tone, "假" means false or fake. But when read in the fourth tone, "假" refers to vacation.