Chinese For Dummies (23 page)

The
sìjì
(suh-jee) (
four seasons
) —
dōngtiān
冬天
(doong-tyan) (
winter
),
chūntiān
春天
(chwun-tyan) (
spring
),
xiàtiān
夏天
(shyah-tyan) (
summer
), and
qiūtiān
秋天
(chyo-tyan) (
fall
) — all have their charms. They also all have their distinctive characteristics when it comes to the weather, which you can express with the following words in any conversation:

bàofēngxuě
暴风雪
(
暴風雪
)
(baow-fuhng-shweh) (
blizzard
)

dàfēng
大风
(
大風
) (dah-fuhng) (
gusty winds
)

duōyún
多云
(
多雲
) (dwaw-yewn) (
cloudy
)

fēng hěn dà
风很大
(
風很大
) (fuhng hun dah) (
windy
)

léiyǔ
雷雨
(lay-yew) (
thunderstorm
)

qínglǎng
晴朗
(cheeng-lahng) (
sunny
)

qíngtiān
晴天
(cheeng-tyan) (
clear
)

xià
máomáoyǔ
下毛毛雨
(shyah maow-maow-yew) (
drizzle
)

xiàwù
下雾
(
下霧
) (shyah-woo) (
fog
)

xiàxuě
下雪
(shyah-shweh) (
snow
)

xiàyǔ
下雨
(shyah-yew) (
rainy
)

yīntiān
阴天
(
陰天
) (yeen-tyan) (
overcast
)

Talkin' the Talk

Gerry and Jean discuss the weather in Harbin, one of the coldest places in northern China.

Jean:

Hā'ěrbīn dōngtiān hěn lěng. Chángcháng xiàxuě.

hah-are-been doong-tyan hun lung. chahng-chahng shyah shweh.