Birthdays and years
HSK 1 Unit 8: Weather, health and celebrations · Lesson 3 of 7 · About 16 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can say years, ask and give birthdays, use this year, last year and next year, and wish someone a happy birthday.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
What does 下雪 mean?
That is 电话 (diànhuà).
That is 可以 (kěyǐ).
Show the answer
Answer: C, to snow.
下雪 (xiàxuě) means to snow.
Characters
Which word means “to snow”?
时间 (shíjiān) means time.
电视 (diànshì) means TV.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 下雪.
“to snow” is 下雪 (xiàxuě).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
音乐 yīnyuè
That would be 跑步 (pǎobù).
That would be 旁边 (pángbiān).
Show the answer
Answer: A, music.
You heard 音乐 (yīnyuè): music.
New words
Years and dates
Years are read digit by digit, with 年 at the end. Dates go from big to small: year, month, day.
二零二六年
Èr líng èr liù nián
the year 2026
我的生日是五月八号。
Wǒ de shēngrì shì wǔ yuè bā hào.
My birthday is May 8.
今年 is this year, 去年 last year and 明年 next year. Like other time words, they go before the verb.
我今年三十岁。
Wǒ jīnnián sānshí suì.
I'm thirty this year.
去年我在北京工作。
Qùnián wǒ zài Běijīng gōngzuò.
Last year I worked in Beijing.
Not:
我工作在北京去年。But: 去年我在北京工作。 Qùnián wǒ zài Běijīng gōngzuò.
Time and place before the verb.
Happy birthday
生日快乐！ is happy birthday. 快乐 (kuàilè) is happy, joyful.
生日快乐！
Shēngrì kuàilè!
Happy birthday!
你的生日是几月几号？
Nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?
When is your birthday?
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Happy birthday!
It's Xiaoyu's birthday, and Anna calls her in the morning.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Listening
Listen first. How old is Xiaoyu this year?
Show the answer
Answer: C, twenty.
小雨 says 我今年二十岁.
Listening
Where was Xiaoyu's birthday last year?
Show the answer
Answer: C, Beijing.
小雨 says 去年在北京.
Show the transcript
安娜
小雨，生日快乐！
Xiaoyu, happy birthday!
小雨
谢谢！
Thank you!
安娜
你今年多大？
How old are you this year?
小雨
我今年二十岁。
I'm twenty this year.
安娜
去年生日你在哪儿？
Where were you on your birthday last year?
小雨
去年在北京，今年在上海。
Last year in Beijing, this year in Shanghai.
安娜
今天晚上我们一起吃饭，好吗？
Shall we have dinner together this evening?
小雨
太好了！
Great!
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
去年生日你在哪儿？
Qùnián shēngrì nǐ zài nǎr?
Where were you on your birthday last year?
去年在北京，今年在上海。
Qùnián zài Běijīng, jīnnián zài Shànghǎi.
Last year in Beijing, this year in Shanghai.
你今年多大？
Nǐ jīnnián duō dà?
How old are you this year?
Practice
Meaning
What does 生日 mean?
That is 喝 (hē).
That is 差 (chà).
Show the answer
Answer: B, birthday.
生日 (shēngrì) means birthday.
Characters
Which word means “happy”?
明年 (míngnián) means next year.
今年 (jīnnián) means this year.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 快乐.
“happy” is 快乐 (kuàilè).
Pinyin
How do you read 年 (year)?
Show the answer
Answer: A, nián.
年 is read nián. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
今年 jīnnián
That would be 她 (tā).
That would be 一共 (yígòng).
Show the answer
Answer: C, this year.
You heard 今年 (jīnnián): this year.
Pinyin
Type the pinyin of 去年 (last year). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.
Show the answer
Answer: qùnián
去年 is qùnián in pinyin.
In context
It is your friend's birthday. What do you say?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 生日快乐！.
生日快乐！: 生日快乐: happy birthday!
Grammar
Which is the right order for May 8, 2026?
Show the answer
Answer: C, 二零二六年五月八号.
二零二六年五月八号: year, month, day.
Listening
Listen. When is the birthday?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
我的生日是十月三号。 Wǒ de shēngrì shì shí yuè sān hào.
Show the answer
Answer: B, October 3.
十月三号: October 3.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for next year
Show the answer
Answer: 明年
明年: next year.
Your birthday
Say four sentences about your birthday and your year, out loud.
- Say when your birthday is.
- Say how old you are this year.
- Say where you were last year and where you will be next year.
Sentence frames
我的生日是＿＿月＿＿号。
Wǒ de shēngrì shì ＿＿ yuè ＿＿ hào.
My birthday is ...
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can read a year digit by digit.
- I say dates from big to small: year, month, day.
- I can say 生日快乐！
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