Intermediate - Birth by Chinese Zodiac (C1028)

A 老公,我们虎年生宝宝吧。
lǎogōng, wǒmen hǔ nián shēng bǎobao ba.
Honey, let's have a baby in the year of the Tiger.
B 干吗一定要虎年啊?
gànmá yīdìng yào hǔ nián a?
Why in the world do have to have one from the year of the Tiger?
A 生肖好,宝宝的命就好嘛。
shēngxiào hǎo, bǎobao de mìng jiù hǎo ma.
If he's born under a lucky sign, the baby's life will be good.
B 不会吧,你那么迷信?
bùhuì ba, nǐ nàme míxìn?
No way. How can you be so superstitious?
A 有些生肖就是不吉利,比如羊啊、牛啊。
yǒu xiē shēngxiào jiùshì bù jílì, bǐrú yáng a, niú a.
Some zodiac signs are not auspicious, like the ram and the bull.
B 你自己就是属羊的,有什么不好?
nǐ zìjǐ jiùshì shǔ yáng de, yǒu shénme bù hǎo?
You're from the year of the ram yourself. What's the matter with that?
A 好什么呀!
hǎo shénme ya!
What's good about it?
B 大家都喜欢的生肖才不好呢。
dàjiā dōu xǐhuan de shēngxiào cái bù hǎo ne.
The popular zodiac signs are actually the worst.
A 怎么?
zěnme?
What?
B 你想,大家都生,宝宝长大以后,竞争肯定很激烈。
nǐ xiǎng, dàjiā dōu shēng, bǎobao zhǎngdà yǐhòu, jìngzhēng kěndìng hěn jīliè.
Think about it. If everyone has their baby, after they grow up, the competition will be really fierce.
A 反正我要虎宝宝。
fǎnzhèng wǒ yào hǔ bǎobao.
Well, anyway, I want a Tiger Baby.
B 那如果错过了,我们要等十二年?
nà rúguǒ cuòguò le, wǒmen yào děng shí èr nián?
If we miss it, we'll have to wait another twelve years?
A 不用。龙也不错。
bùyòng. lóng yě bùcuò.
No need. The Year of the Dragon is also fine.
B 哎......
āi......
Yeesh.

Key Vocabulary

虎年 hǔnián the year of the tiger
shēng to give birth to
干吗 gànmá why
一定要 yīdìng yào must
生肖 shēngxiào zodiac sign
mìng destiny
迷信 míxìn superstitious
吉利 jílì auspicious
shǔ to belong to
长大 zhǎngdà to grow up
以后 yǐhòu afterward
竞争 jìngzhēng competition
肯定 kěndìng to be sure
激烈 jīliè intense
反正 fǎnzhèng anyway
错过 cuòguò to miss

Supplementary Vocabulary

性格 xìnggé personality
本命年 běnmìngnián twelfth anniversary of the year of one's birth
运气 yùnqi luck
农历 nónglì lunar calendar
shǔ rat
niú cow
tiger
rabbit
lóng dragon
shé snake
horse
yáng sheep
hóu monkey
chicken
gǒu dog
zhū pig