Thanksgiving is coming up in just a few short days. While this traditional American holiday isn’t celebrated in China, people there are always interested to learn about this and other festivals from around the world. I always laugh when my Chinese students ask me if I’m going to eat a “fire chicken” this week. That’s the direct translation of the Chinese word for “turkey,” by the way. If you want to talk about this holiday with your Chinese friends or colleagues, read on for some useful Chinese Thanksgiving vocabulary words.

Carving up the “fire chicken.”

20 Chinese Thanksgiving Vocabulary Words

First up, here are 20 useful Chinese Thanksgiving vocabulary words for you to study:

What a feast!

Thanksgiving Story

Now here’s a little Thanksgiving story. You can read it in Chinese characters first, then find the pinyin and English translations below:

感恩节是美国的节日。每年11月第四个星期四是感恩节。感恩节的时候，很多人回家跟家人一起宴会。感恩节的传统食物是：考火鸡，土豆泥，红莓酱，南瓜派，什么的。人民也喜欢一起看电视。早上可以看梅西百货感恩节游行。下午可以看美式橄榄球比赛。每年底特律雄狮和达拉斯牛仔有比赛。感恩节的次日是黑色星期五。疯狂的购物月从这一天开始。感恩节快乐！

Gǎn’ēn jié shì měi guó de jié rì. Měi nián 11 yuè dì sì gè xīng qí sì shì gǎn’ēn jié. Gǎn’ēn jié de shí hòu, hěn duō rén huí jiā gēn jiā rén yī qǐ yàn huì. Gǎn’ēn jié de chuán tǒng shí wù shì: kǎo huǒ jī, tǔ dòu ní, hóng méi jiàng, nán guā pài, shén me de. Rén mín yě xǐ huān yī qǐ kàn diàn shì. Zǎo shang kě yǐ kàn méi xī bǎi huò gǎn’ēn jié yóu xíng. Xià wǔ kě yǐ kàn měi shì gǎn lǎn qiú bǐ sài. Měi nián dǐ tè lǜ xióng shī hé dá lā sī niú zǎi yǒu bǐ sài. Gǎn’ēn jié de cì rì shì hēi sè xīng qí wǔ. Fēng kuáng de gòu wù yuè cóng zhè yī tiān kāi shǐ. Gǎn’ēn jié kuài lè!

Thanksgiving is an American holiday. Every fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving, many people go home to have a feast with their families. The traditional food for Thanksgiving is: turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and so on. People also like to watch TV together. In the morning you can watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. You can watch American football in the afternoon. Every year the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have games. The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. The crazy shopping month begins on this day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Questions

Now see if you can answer a few questions about this holiday in Chinese:

你怎么庆祝感恩节?
nǐ zěn me qìng zhù gǎn’ēn jié
How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

感恩节的时候，你喜欢吃什么?
gǎn’ēn jié de shí hòu, nǐ xǐ huān chī shén me
What do you like to eat on Thanksgiving?

你想看感恩节游行吗？
nǐ xiǎng kàn gǎn’ēn jié yóu xíng ma
Do you want to watch the Thanksgiving parade?

你喜欢看美式足球吗？
nǐ xǐ huān kàn měi shì zú qiú ma
Do you like to watch American football?