Thanksgiving in Chinese 感恩节
gǎnēn jié
Happy Thanksgiving in Chinese is 感恩节快乐 (gǎn ēn jié kuài lè).
Also searched for as: Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving dinner, happy Thanksgiving, Turkey Day.
Turkey, family and giving thanks. 15 words and phrases for Thanksgiving in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Thanksgiving in Chinese is 感恩节 (gǎn ēn jié), literally "gratitude festival", celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday of November and in Canada in October. Chinese speakers mostly know it through American culture, and its vocabulary centres on the meal: 火鸡 (huǒ jī), turkey, 南瓜派 (nán guā pài), pumpkin pie, and 土豆泥 (tǔ dòu ní), mashed potato, plus the universal after-dinner complaint, 吃撑了 (chī chēng le).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 感恩节 | gǎn ēn jié | Thanksgiving |
| 感恩节快乐 | gǎn ēn jié kuài lè | Happy Thanksgiving |
| 感恩 | gǎn ēn | to be grateful; gratitude |
| 感谢 | gǎn xiè | to thank |
| 火鸡 | huǒ jī | turkey |
| 南瓜派 | nán guā pài | pumpkin pie |
| 土豆泥 | tǔ dòu ní | mashed potato |
| 蔓越莓酱 | màn yuè méi jiàng | cranberry sauce |
| 馅料 | xiàn liào | stuffing |
| 团聚 | tuán jù | to get together (as a family) |
| 大餐 | dà cān | feast; big meal |
| 游行 | yóu xíng | parade |
| 美式橄榄球 | měi shì gǎn lǎn qiú | American football |
| 长周末 | cháng zhōu mò | long weekend |
| 吃撑了 | chī chēng le | to be stuffed (full) |
Usage tips
- 感恩 (gǎn ēn) is deeper and more formal than 感谢 (gǎn xiè): 感谢 thanks someone for a particular thing, while 感恩 expresses lasting gratitude, as in 我很感恩 (wǒ hěn gǎn ēn), "I'm truly grateful".
- 火鸡 (huǒ jī) literally means "fire chicken", and 派 (pài) in 南瓜派 is simply a sound loan for "pie"; many Western foods are named in Chinese by combining a familiar word with a borrowed sound like this.
- 吃撑了 (chī chēng le) is the natural way to say you're stuffed, since 撑 means stretched to bursting; 我快撑死了 is the jokey exaggeration.
Common mistakes
- Running 感恩 together as "gǎ nēn" → there's a syllable break: gǎn ēn, written gǎn'ēn in standard pinyin.
- Translating "I'm full" as 我是满的 → say 我吃饱了 (wǒ chī bǎo le), or 我吃撑了 (wǒ chī chēng le) if you've overdone it.
Mini dialogue
- A感恩节快乐！今天吃什么大餐？Gǎn ēn jié kuài lè! Jīn tiān chī shén me dà cān?Happy Thanksgiving! What's the big feast today?
- B当然是火鸡，还有我奶奶做的南瓜派。Dāng rán shì huǒ jī, hái yǒu wǒ nǎi nai zuò de nán guā pài.Turkey, of course, and my grandma's pumpkin pie.
- A听起来太好吃了！有土豆泥吗？Tīng qǐ lái tài hǎo chī le! Yǒu tǔ dòu ní ma?Sounds delicious! Is there mashed potato?
- B有，什么都有。不过每年吃完我都吃撑了。Yǒu, shén me dōu yǒu. Bù guò měi nián chī wán wǒ dōu chī chēng le.Yes, there's everything. But every year I end up stuffed.
Example sentences
- 美国的感恩节在十一月。American Thanksgiving is in November.
- 祝你和家人感恩节快乐！Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
- 我很感恩有你们这些朋友。I'm so grateful to have friends like you.
- 我想感谢每一个帮过我的人。I want to thank everyone who's helped me.
- 今年的火鸡烤得特别好。The turkey turned out really well this year.
- 我奶奶做的南瓜派最好吃。My grandma's pumpkin pie is the best.
- 再给我来点土豆泥。Give me a bit more mashed potato.
- 火鸡要配蔓越莓酱。Turkey goes with cranberry sauce.
- 火鸡肚子里塞满了馅料。The turkey is packed with stuffing.
- 感恩节是家人团聚的日子。Thanksgiving is a day for families to get together.
- 我们准备了一顿大餐。We've made a big feast.
- 纽约感恩节有一个大游行。New York has a big Thanksgiving parade.
- 吃完饭大家一起看美式橄榄球。After dinner everyone watches American football together.
- 感恩节有个长周末。You get a long weekend at Thanksgiving.
- 我吃撑了，走不动了。I'm stuffed, I can't move.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Thanksgiving speaking island has 8 everyday questions about Thanksgiving to prepare your own answers to.