我的生日
wǒ de shēngrì
In Chinese, the phrase for "my birthday" is 我的生日 (wǒ de shēngrì).
The phrase 我的生日 is used to refer to the anniversary of the day a person was born.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 我 (I/me), the possessive particle 的 and 生日 (birthday). The word 生日 literally means "birth day".
How does it change in a sentence?
The possessive particle 的 is used to link the pronoun 我 to the noun 生日.
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ de shēngrì
Did you know?
- Giving a clock as a gift for a 生日 is considered a major taboo. The phrase 送钟 (sòngzhōng), meaning 'to give a clock', sounds identical to a phrase meaning 'to attend a funeral'.
- In many Chinese-speaking regions, it is common to celebrate a 'birthday' by eating 'longevity noodles' (长寿面, chángshòumiàn). These noodles are meant to be very long and should ideally be eaten without breaking them to symbolize a long life.
- In traditional Chinese culture, the most important birthday is not the day you are born, but the 60th anniversary, called 花甲 (huājuǐa). This marks the completion of one full cycle of the traditional sexagenary calendar.
Examples in context
- 今天是我的生日。Today is my birthday.Tatoeba #1480125 by egg0073, translation #985108 by riccioberto
- 今天也是我的生日。Today is my birthday, too.Tatoeba #13561225 by LeviHighway, translation #10284651 by CK
- 我爸爸买了个相机作为我的生日礼物。My father bought me a camera for my birthday.Tatoeba #13994827 by jan_OkulaJu, translation #319293 by CK
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their upcoming plans.
- 佳怡 Jiayi下个星期是我的生日。Xià gè xīngqī shì wǒ de shēngrì.Next week is my birthday.
- 俊杰 Junjie那我们要不要一起去吃饭？Nà wǒmen yào bù yào yīqǐ qù chīfàn?Then shall we go out to eat together?
- 佳怡 Jiayi好啊，我也想请你。Hǎo a, wǒ yě xiǎng qǐng nǐ.Sure, I want to treat you too.
- 俊杰 Junjie太好了，谢谢佳怡。Tài hǎole, xièxiè Jiāyí.That's great, thanks Jiayi.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
