Upper-Intermediate - No Spring, No Wedding? (D1350)

A: 哎呀,双休日两天都在外面跑,累死人了。
āiyā, shuāngxiūrì liǎngtiān dōu zài wàimian pǎo, lèi sǐ rén le.
Geez, spending the weekend running around town is exhausting.
B: 是忙着准备婚礼吧,明年3月份,对吧?
shì máng zhe zhǔnbèi hūnlǐ ba, míngnián sān yuèfèn, duì ba?
You're busy preparing your wedding ceremony, yeah? It's next March, right?
A: 是啊。不过,最近的酒店倒是挺容易订的。
shì a. bùguò, zuìjìn de jiǔdiàn dàoshì tǐng róngyì dìng de.
That's right. However, these days booking a hotel is actually quite easy.
B: 嗯。
ng4.
Yeah.
A: 你知道的,前两年订酒店那可难啦,要提前半年甚至一年才能订到。我们昨天去订,店家很爽气,打了9折不说,还送了两天的免费套间。
nǐ zhīdào de, qiánliǎngnián dìng jiǔdiàn nà kě nán la, yào tíqián bàn nián shènzhì yī nián cáinéng dìngdào. wǒmen zuótiān qù dìng, diànjiā hěn shuǎngqì, dǎ le jiǔ zhé bùshuō, hái sòng le liǎng tiān de miǎnfèi tàojiān.
You know, two years ago, booking a hotel was really hard. You had to book them a half a year to a year in advance if you wanted to get one. We went to book one yesterday. The manager was right to the point. Not only did they give us a 10% discount, they also threw in two free nights in a suite.
B: 嗯。
ng4.
Oh.
A: 你怎么了?是不是有什么话要说?
nǐ zěnmele? shì bu shì yǒu shénme huà yào shuō?
What's the matter with you? Is there something you want to say?
B: 其实,我有句话不知道该不该讲。
qíshí, wǒ yǒu jù huà bù zhīdào gāi bu gāi jiǎng.
Actually, there is something. But, I don't know if I should say it.
A: 说啊,瞧你那慢性子,等你一句话等得我花儿都谢了。
shuō a, qiáo nǐ nà mànxìngzi, děng nǐ yī jù huà děng de wǒ huār5 dōu xiè le.
Say it! Look at you, slow-poke. By the time I'm done waiting for you, I'll be an old man.
B: 我妈跟我说,明年是寡妇年。
wǒ mā gēn wǒ shuō, míngnián shì guǎfu nián.
My mom told me that next year is a 'widow's year'.
A: 什么寡妇年?
shénme guǎfu nián?
What's a 'widow's year'?
B: 就是说,明年无春,不适合结婚。
jiùshì shuō, míngnián wú chūn, bù shìhé jiéhūn.
In other words, next year doesn't have a spring. It's not a suitable year for getting married.
A: 有这种说法?我没听说过。
yǒu zhèzhǒng shuōfa? wǒ méi tīngshuō guo.
People say that? I've never heard that before.
B: 我妈说,明年立春比春节要早,所以新的一年没有春天。
wǒ mā shuō, míngnián lìchūn bǐ chūnjié yào zǎo, suǒyǐ xīn de yī nián méiyǒu chūntiān.
My mom says, next year, the start of spring is earlier than Spring Festival, so next year doesn't have a spring.
A: 不是过完春节才立春吗?
bùshì guò wán chūnjié cái lìchūn ma?
Doesn't spring start after Spring Festival is over?
B: 所以说明年特殊啊!2月14号是春节,可是2月4号就立春了。
suǒyǐ shuō míngnián tèshū a! èr yuè shísì hào shì chūnjié, kěshì èr yuè sì hào jiù lìchūn le.
So that's why it means this year is special! February 14 is Spring Festival, but February 4 is the start of spring.
A: 哦,怪不得现在订酒店那么容易,原来是订的人少了。
ò, guàibude xiànzài dìng jiǔdiàn nàme róngyì, yuánlái shì dìng de rén shǎo le.
Oh. No wonder it's so easy to book a hotel right now. There haven't been many people booking them all along.
B: 可不是吗,我妈一直催我,所以我今年就结了。
kěbushì ma, wǒ mā yīzhí cuī wǒ, suǒyǐ wǒ jīnnián jiù jié le.
Exactly. My mom kept rushing me, so I just got married this year.
A: 这种无厘头的说法可真多。
zhèzhǒng wúlítóu de shuōfa kě zhēn duō.
There really are a lot of these random sayings.
B: 宁可信其有,不可信其无。这个说法还是挺吓人的,寡妇年,倒霉的是咱们男人。
nìngkě xìn qí yǒu, bù kě xìn qí wú. zhè ge shuōfa háishì tǐng xiàrén de, guǎfu nián, dǎoméi de shì zánmen nánrén.
You're better off believing it in case it's true. This expression is pretty scary. 'Widow's year'; it's us guys that are the unlucky ones.
A: 你看,本来挺高兴的事儿,被你说得那么晦气。
nǐ kàn, běnlái tǐng gāoxìng de shìr, bèi nǐ shuō de nàme huìqì.
See, at first this was a happy thing. Now you've jinxed it.
B: 哎,别走啊,不是你硬要我说的吗?说出来你又不高兴!
āi, bié zǒu a, bùshì nǐ yìngyào wǒ shuō de ma? shuōchūlai nǐ yòu bù gāoxìng!
Hey, don't go. You're the one who insisted I tell you. Now that I've said it, you're all upset!

Key Vocabulary

双休日 shuāngxiūrì weekend
提前 tíqián in advance
甚至 shènzhì to the point that
爽气 shuǎngqì straightforward
……不说 bùshuō not to mention...
套间 tàojiān suite
慢性子 mànxìngzi person with a slow temperament
等得花儿都谢了 děng de huār dōu xiè le to wait for a very long time
寡妇 guǎfu widow
说法 shuōfǎ saying
立春 lìchūn beginning of spring
怪不得 guàibude no wonder
cuī to urge
无厘头 wúlítóu random, nonsensical
宁可信其有,不可信其无 nìngkě xìn qí yǒu, bù kě xìn qí wú better to believe it, lest it be true
倒霉 dǎoméi to have bad luck
晦气 huìqì unlucky, bad luck
硬要 yìngyào to insist

Supplementary Vocabulary

封建迷信 fēngjiànmíxìn feudal superstition
农历 nónglì Lunar Calendar
节气 jiéqì solar term
立夏 lìxià beginning of summer
立秋 lìqiū beginning of autumn
立冬 lìdōng beginning of winter

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