聖誕老人 / 圣诞老人
Shèngdàn lǎorén
In Chinese, Santa Claus is said as 聖誕老人 / 圣诞老人 (Shèngdàn lǎorén). Wiktionary also lists 耶誕老人 / 耶诞老人 (Yēdàn lǎorén, Yédàn lǎorén).
Meaning: fictional figure (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 聖誕老人 / 圣诞老人 | Shèngdàn lǎorén | |
| 耶誕老人 / 耶诞老人 | Yēdàn lǎorén, Yédàn lǎorén | Taiwan |
This phrase is used to refer to the fictional figure of Santa Claus.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 聖誕老人 / 圣诞老人 is composed of Shèngdàn (Christmas) and lǎorén (old man).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mainland China, the standard form is 聖誕老人 / 圣诞老人. In Taiwan, it is common to use 耶誕老人 / 耶诞老人. In Cantonese, the figure is often referred to as 聖誕老人 or 聖誕老公公.
How do you pronounce it?
Shèngdàn lǎorén
Did you know?
- Because 老人 (lǎorén) simply means 'old person', some Chinese speakers who are unfamiliar with Western folklore may believe Santa was a real person who lived for centuries.
- In some older Hong Kong media, you might see the phrase 聖誕老伯伯 (shèngdàn lǎobóbo) used instead, which translates to 'Christmas Uncle'.
- The character 聖 in 聖誕 means 'holy' or 'saint', meaning the phrase literally translates to 'Holy Birth Old Man'.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “santa claus” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
