Beat the Heat: Common Chinese Expressions for Summer

This summer has been exceptionally hot. So, how much do you know about the Chinese people's ways of talking about summer? Here are some common Chinese expressions. Let's take a look together!

Weather-Related

• "It's so hot today!"
  "今天好热啊！" 
  jīn tiān hǎo rè a
• "The sun is going to melt me!"
  "太阳快把我晒化了！" 
  tài yáng kuài bǎ wǒ shài huà le!
• "It’s so stuffy that I can hardly breathe."
  "闷得喘不过气来。" 
  mēn de chuǎn bú guò qì lái
• "Let’s have a thunderstorm to cool things down!"
  "来场暴雨凉快凉快吧！" 
  lái chǎng bào yǔ liáng kuai liáng kuai ba！

Beat the Heat Activities

• "Going to the beach to swim this weekend?"
  "周末去海边玩水吗？" 
  zhōu mò qù hǎi biān wán shuǐ ma？
• "Bought a new pair of goggles, going swimming tomorrow."
  "买了个新泳镜，明天游泳去。" 
  mǎi le gè xīn yǒng jìng, míng tiān yóu yǒng qù
• "Let’s have barbecued skewers and beer tonight!"
  "晚上撸串喝啤酒吧！" 
  wǎn shang lū chuàn hē pí jiǔ ba！
• "Time to find a shopping mall with air conditioning."
  "找个商场蹭空调。" 
  zhǎo gè shāng chǎng cèng kōng tiáo

Food and Drink

• "Bring me a piece of chilled watermelon!"
  "冰镇西瓜来一块！" 
  bīng zhèn xī guā lái yí kuài
• "Green bean soup is the best for cooling down."
  "绿豆汤解暑最好了。" 
  lǜ dòu tāng jiě shǔ zuì hǎo le
• "I'm craving cold noodles in this weather."
  "这天气就想吃凉面。" 
  zhè tiān qì jiù xiǎng chī liáng miàn
• "Lemon water with ice, thank you."
  "柠檬水加冰，谢谢。" 
  níng méng shuǐ jiā bīng, xiè xie

Sun Protection Essentials

• "Can I borrow some sunscreen from you?"
  "你防晒霜借我抹点。" 
  nǐ fáng shài shuāng jiè wǒ mǒ diǎn
• "My umbrella has a UPF50+ sun protection rating."
  "我的伞防晒指数UPF50+" 
  wǒ de sǎn fáng shài zhǐ shù UPF50+
• "Don’t forget the post-sun repair mask."
  "晒后修复面膜不能少。" 
  shài hòu xiū fù miàn mó bù néng shǎo

Complaining/Joking

• "It’s as hot as a dog!"
  "热成狗了！" 
  rè chéng gǒu le
• "Five minutes out and two hours of sweating."
  "出门五分钟，流汗两小时。" 
  chū mén wǔ fēn zhōng, liú hàn liǎng xiǎo shí
• "I’m just a sprinkle of cumin away from becoming barbecued meat."
  "我和烤肉之间只差一撮孜然。" 
  wǒ hé kǎo ròu zhī jiān zhǐ chà yī cuō zī rán

Practical Phrases

• "Can you reach down the mini fan for me?"
  "能帮我拿下小风扇吗？" 
  néng bāng wǒ ná xià xiǎo fēng shàn ma
• "What’s the WiFi password?"
  "WiFi密码是多少？" 
  WiFi mì mǎ shì duō shǎo？
• "The mosquitoes are unbearable, do you have any mosquito repellent?"
  "蚊子太多了，有花露水吗？" 
  wén zi tài duō le, yǒu huā lù shuǐ ma

Have you learned them? If so, start using them now!