Astronomically, we still have a few days before summer will officially arrive on June 20. But it certainly feels like summer is already here – 夏天来了 (xià tiān lái le, summer is here). The phrase 夏天 (xià tiān) means summer. It ends with the noun 天 (tiān), as all of the Chinse four seasons end:

Three of the seasons, for example, are mentioned in the following paragraph:

冬天过去了，下完雨了，人们纷纷脱去外衣。温暖的春天也快快地过去了，炎热的夏天来临了。人们穿上了薄薄的夏装，有的人戴上了太阳帽，有的人戴上了太阳镜，有的还穿了凉鞋呢。

Dōng tiān guò qù le, xià wán yǔ le, rén men fēn tuō qù wàiyī. Wēn nuǎn de chūn tiān yě kuài dì guò qù le, yán rè de xià tiān lái lín le. Rén men chuān shàng le báo de xià zhuāng, yǒu de rén dài shàng le tài yáng mào, yǒu de rén dài shàng le tài yang jìng, yǒu de hái chuān le liáng xié ne.

The winter has passed, the rain is over, people have taken off their coats one after the other. The warm spring has passed quickly, as well, and the hot summer has arrived. People put on thin summer clothes, some wear hats, some wear sunglasses, some even wear sandals.

Summer is the hottest (炎热 yán rè) season. In recent years, some even think it’s getting hotter and hotter: 近年，有的人觉得夏日越来越热 (jìn nián, yǒu de rén jué dé xià rì yuè lái yuè rè). The sun (太阳 tài yáng) is up in the sky, and the temperatures are rising. Yet, most days are sunny (晴天 qíng tiān) and quite nice. In some, you can even enjoy a summer breeze (享受夏天风 xiǎng shòu xià tiān fēng).In other days, though, the scorching sun (烈日 liè rì) shines fiercely on the ground, making people hide in trees’ shade: 烈日火辣辣地照在大地上，让人家躲在树荫下 (liè rì huǒ là de zhào zài dà dì shàng, ràng rén jiā duǒ zài shù yìn xià).

In those kind of days the summer accessories mentioned in the paragraph above are must:

More and more people are becoming aware of the sun’s hazards, and wish to protect themselves as much as possible. Many Chinese women even carry a parasol (阳伞 yáng sǎn) with them:

为了保护皮肤及健康，好多女人撑阳伞遮阳。 有的女人怕晒黑而撑伞，认为雪白的肌肤是美的。

Wèi le bǎo hù pí fū jí jiàn kāng, hǎo duō nǚ rén chēng yáng sǎn zhē yáng. Yǒu de nǚ rén pà shài hēi ér chēng sǎn, rèn wéi xuě bái de jī fū shì měi de.

In order to protect the skin and health, many women hold parasols to shield from the sun. Some women carry parasol for fear of tanning, thinking that white skin is beautiful.  

 

Text vocabulary

夏天 xià tiān = summer

夏日 xià rì = summer

温暖 wēn nuǎn = warm

炎热 yán rè = sizzling hot

太阳 tài yáng = sun

烈日 liè rì = scorching sun

晴天 qíng tiān = sunny day

照 zhào = to shine, to illuminate

荫 yìn = shade, shady

遮阳 zhē yáng = to shield from the sun

晒黑 shài hēi = to tan, to sunburnt

Practice the new vocabulary with the joyful Chinese nursery rhyme 夏天来了:

 

好好学习，天天向上！

---