萬聖節快樂 - Happy Halloween

Today's Chinese word of the day is 萬聖節快樂 which means happy halloween.

In Mandarin 萬聖節快樂 is pronounced Wànshèngjié kuàilè.

夜 - night

Today's Chinese word of the day is 夜 which means night.

In Mandarin 夜 is pronounced yè.
這是黑暗的夜晚 Zhè shì hēi'àn de yèwǎn means It's a dark night.

糖果- Candy

Today's Chinese word of the day is 糖果 which means candy.

In Mandarin 糖果 is pronounced Tángguǒ.
糖 Táng means sugar or sweet 果 guǒ means fruit. So candy is sweet fruit.
我想要糖果 Wǒ xiǎng yào tángguǒ means I want candy.

火 - Fire

Today's Chinese word of the day is 火 which means fire.

In Mandarin 火 is pronounced Huǒ.
那房子是火 Nà fángzi shì huǒ - That house is on fire!

月亮- Moon

Today's Chinese word of the day is 月亮 which means moon.

In Mandarin 月亮 is pronounced yuèliàng.
今晚的月亮很明亮 Jīn wǎn de yuèliàng hěn míngliàng - Tonights moon is very bright.

貓 - Cat

Today's Chinese word of the day is 貓 which means cat.

In Mandarin 貓 is pronounced Māo, which is also the sound a cat makes in Chinese culture.
那隻黑貓太可怕了 Nà zhī hēi māo tài kěpàle - That black cat is too scary.

公墓 - Cemetery

Today's Chinese word of the day is 公墓 which means cemetery.

In Mandarin 公墓 is pronounced Gōngmù.
我不會在黑暗後去公墓 Wǒ bù huì zài hēi'àn hòu qù Gōngmù - I won't go to the cemetery after dark.

鬼屋 - Haunted house

Today's Chinese word of the day is 鬼屋 which means haunted house.

In Mandarin 鬼屋 is pronounced Guǐwū.
鬼 Guǐ is ghost and 屋 wū is house or room.
我不會進入那個鬼屋 Wǒ bù huì jìnrù nàgè guǐwū means I will not go in that haunted house.

迷信 - Superstition

Today's Chinese word of the day is 迷信 which means superstition.

In Mandarin 迷信 is pronounced Míxìn.
迷 Mí means fan or lost and 信 xìn means belief.

天使 - Angel

Today's Chinese word of the day is 天使 which means Angel.

In Mandarin 天使 is pronounced Tiānshǐ.
天 Tiān means heaven 使 shǐ means envoy.
你看起來像天使 Nǐ kàn qǐlái xiàng tiānshǐ - You look like an angel.

稻草人 - Scarecrow

Today's Chinese word of the day is 稻草人 which means scarecrow.

In Mandarin 稻草人 is pronounced Dàocǎorén.
稻 Dào is rice or paddy, 草 cǎo is grass or straw and 人 rén is man.
那個稻草人不可怕 Nàgè dàocǎorén bù kěpà - That scarecrow isn't scary.

狼人 - Werewolf

Today's Chinese word of the day is 狼人 which means Werewolf.

In Mandarin 狼人 is pronounced Lángrén.
狼 Láng means wolf, and 人 rén means person.
我不是狼人，我只需要刮鬍子 Wǒ bùshì lángrén, wǒ zhǐ xūyào guā húzi means I'm not a werewolf, I just need to shave.

Happy Halloween.

蜘蛛 - Spider

Today's Chinese word of the day is 蜘蛛 which means spider.

In Mandarin 蜘蛛 is pronounced Zhīzhū.
那隻蜘蛛吃了所有的蒼蠅 Nà zhī zhīzhū chīle suǒyǒu de cāngyíng - That spider ate all the flies

生活 - Life

Today's Chinese word of the day is 生活 which means life.

In Mandarin 生活 is pronounced Shēnghuó.
我愛我的生活 Wǒ ài wǒ de shēnghuó means I love my life.

死亡 - Death

Today's Chinese word of the day is 死亡 which means death.

In Mandarin 死亡 is pronounced Sǐwáng.
Because 死 Sǐ and 四 Sì sound the same (but have a different tone) The number four is unlucky in Chinese culture. Even to the point that many buildings don't have a fourth floor but skip from 3rd to 5th.
我不怕死亡 Wǒ bùpà sǐwáng means I don't fear death.

骨架 - Skeleton

Today's Chinese word of the day is 骨架 which means skeleton.

In Mandarin 骨架 is pronounced Gǔjià.
骨 Gǔ is bone, 架 jià is frame. So skeleton is a frame of bones.
你像骨架一樣瘦 Nǐ xiàng gǔjià yīyàng shòu - You are as thin as a skeleton.

精神 - Spirit

Today's Chinese word of the day is 精神 which means spirit.

In Mandarin 精神 is pronounced Jīngshén.
精 Jīng means essence. 神 shén means God.
So in Chinese spirit is the essence of God.

南瓜 - Pumpkin

Today's Chinese word of the day is 南瓜 which means pumpkin.

In Mandarin 南瓜 is pronounced Nánguā.
南 Nán means south, 瓜 guā means melon.
I'm not sure why pumpkins are the melons of the south in chinese, maybe they grow more in southern China?

蝙蝠 - Bat

Today's Chinese word of the day is 蝙蝠.

In Mandarin 蝙蝠 is pronounced Biānfú.
蝙蝠在月亮下飛行 Biānfú zài yuèliàng xià fēixíng means the bat flew under the moon.
月亮 yuèliàng is moon.
飛行 fēixíng is fly.

巫婆 - Witch

Today's Chinese word of the day is 巫婆 which means Witch.

In Mandarin 巫婆 is pronounced Wūpó.
那個女巫把我變成了一個蠑螈 Nàgè nǚwū bǎ wǒ biànchéngle yīgè róng yuán means That witch turned me into a newt.
那個 Nàgè means that (useful when pointing at what you would like to buy at a market).
變成了 biànchéngle the first character is change the second character is become, the last character makes it past tense.

怪物 - Monster

Today's Chinese word of the day is 怪物 which means monster.

In Mandarin 怪物 is pronounced Guàiwù.
The first character 怪 Guài means strange. The second character 物 wù means thing.
什麼是那個怪物 Shénme shì nàgè guàiwù means What is that monster?

殭屍 - Zombie

Today's Chinese word of the day is 殭屍 which means zombie.

In Mandarin 殭屍 is pronounced Jiāngshī.
你看起來像一個殭屍 Nǐ kàn qǐlái xiàng yīgè jiāngshī means You look like a zombie.

餓鬼 - Ghoul

Today's Chinese word of the day is 餓鬼 which means ghoul.

In Mandarin 餓鬼 is pronounced È guǐ.
The first character 餓 È means hungry. The second character 鬼 guǐ means ghost.
So ghoul is literally a hungry ghost.
餓死了 Èsǐle means I'm starving. The second character there means death, so it's literally I'm hungry to death.

吸血鬼 - Vampire

Today's Chinese word of the day is 吸血鬼 which means vampire.

In Mandarin 吸血鬼 is pronounced Xīxuèguǐ.
The first character 吸 Xī means suck. The second character 血 xuè means blood. And the third 鬼 guǐ means ghost.
爱德华是一个很好的吸血鬼 Àidéhuá shì yīgè hěn hǎo de xīxuèguǐ means "Edward was a good vampire."

鬼 - Ghost

Today's Chinese word of the day is 鬼 which means ghost.

In Mandarin 鬼 is pronounced Guǐ.
Notice that 鬼 Guǐ is the second character of devil. It will also be part of other words this month.

害怕 - Scared

Today's Chinese word of the day is 害怕 which means scared.

In Mandarin 害怕 is pronounced Hàipà.
我害怕的魔鬼 Wǒ hàipà de móguǐ - I'm scared of the devil (or gremlins...).

魔鬼 - Devil

Today's Chinese word of the day is 魔鬼 which means devil.

In Mandarin 魔鬼is pronounced Móguǐ.
I thought I would take a change of direction for October and focus on some words with a bit of a scary theme.
Also, does anyone remember Gremlins? Móguǐ is what the creatures are called in Chinese on the Gremlins movie.

過來 - Come here

Today's Chinese word of the day is 過來 which means come here.

In Mandarin 過來 is pronounced Guòlái.
請過來 Qǐng guòlái means please come here.

前面 - In front

Today's Chinese word of the day is 前面 which means in front.

In Mandarin 前面 is pronounced qiánmiàn.
The first character 前 qián means in front. the second character 面 miàn means surface.
我在你前面 Wǒ zài nǐ qiánmiàn means I'm in front of you. So if you're leading in the dark...

後面 - Behind

Today's Chinese word of the day is 後面 which means behind.

In Mandarin 後面 is pronounced Hòumiàn.
The first character 後 Hòu means behind. the second character 面 miàn means surface.
面 miàn can be used with above/below/right/left also.
我在你後面 Wǒ zài nǐ hòumiàn means I'm behind you. So if you're in the dark...

右 - Right

Today's Chinese word of the day is 右 which means right (the direction, not the opposite of wrong).

In Mandarin 右 is pronounced Yòu.
在右邊 Zài Yòubiān means on the right.
Now if you are on your friend's right in the dark...
我在你的右邊 Wǒ zài nǐ de Yòubiān - I'm on your right. Unless of course you aren't... in which case go read yesterday's word again.