清明节 · Qingming Festival

Tomb-sweeping and spring outings: the words for remembering family and for the first warm days of the year. Written by XiaoZhuJian for the Qingming Festival.

8 Mandarin flashcards · Make your own with XiaoZhuJian

1. 清明节

   qīng míng jié

   Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping) Festival

   清明节一般在四月四号或者五号。

   qīng míng jié yì bān zài sì yuè sì hào huò zhě wǔ hào

   Qingming usually falls on the fourth or fifth of April.

2. 扫墓

   sǎo mù

   to sweep a grave; to tend a family grave

   清明节那天，我们全家回老家给爷爷扫墓。

   qīng míng jié nà tiān wǒ men quán jiā huí lǎo jiā gěi yé ye sǎo mù

   On Qingming our whole family goes back home to tend Grandpa's grave.

3. 纪念

   jì niàn

   to commemorate; to remember

   祖先

   zǔ xiān

   ancestors

   清明节是纪念祖先的节日。

   qīng míng jié shì jì niàn zǔ xiān de jié rì

   Qingming is a festival for remembering one's ancestors.

4. 踏青

   tà qīng

   to go on a spring outing

   天气暖和了，很多人趁清明去郊外踏青。

   tiān qì nuǎn huo le hěn duō rén chèn qīng míng qù jiāo wài tà qīng

   Now that it's warm, lots of people use Qingming to go on a spring outing in the countryside.

5. 青团

   qīng tuán

   green rice ball (a Qingming food)

   江南一带清明前后要吃青团。

   jiāng nán yí dài qīng míng qián hòu yào chī qīng tuán

   Around Qingming, people in the Jiangnan region eat green rice balls.

6. 怀念

   huái niàn

   to miss (someone gone); to cherish the memory of

   看到这张老照片，我很怀念奶奶。

   kàn dào zhè zhāng lǎo zhào piàn wǒ hěn huái niàn nǎi nai

   Seeing this old photo, I really miss Grandma.

7. 风筝

   fēng zheng

   kite

   春天风大，正适合放风筝。

   chūn tiān fēng dà zhèng shì hé fàng fēng zheng

   Spring is windy — just right for flying kites.

8. 献花

   xiàn huā

   to lay flowers

   代替

   dài tì

   to replace; instead of

   现在很多人用献花代替烧纸。

   xiàn zài hěn duō rén yòng xiàn huā dài tì shāo zhǐ

   Nowadays many people lay flowers instead of burning paper offerings.