How to say ” Merry Christmas everyone” in Chinese:大家圣旦快乐。Da4 jia1 (大家pronoun, everyone, every person) sheng4 dan4 (圣旦 proper noun, Christmas) kuai4 le4 (快乐 adjective, happy).
When you enter into a room of people, it is good that you know this phrase da4 jia1 – everyone. Da4 originally means big, and jia1 mean home. Da4 jia1 is a polite way to address a crowd, for in the ancient China, da4 jia1 refers to the prestigious, lofty, noble and powerful clans and families.
There is a Chinese idiom 大家风范 da4 jia1 feng1 fan4 — prestigious family’s elegant demeanor and imposing style.
For example, little Wang’s manner is so elegant and graceful with magnificent temperament. Then, we can say:
小王真有大家风范啊。
xiao3 wang2 zhen1 you3 da4 jia1 feng1 fan4 a5.
Little Wang really has noble and prestigious family’s grand manners.
The opposite of 大家 da4 jia1 is 小家 xiao3 jia1. We have another idiom that says 小家碧玉 xiao3 jia4 bi4 yu4, which means a girl is like unpolished jade ( a rustic beauty; tomboy; a Cinderella), or more commonly, just like a girl next door. So, literally, it means little family’s unpolished jade. However, you can only use it to refer to a girl, no boys.
You might wonder, how should we address those ladies or girls from noble, powerful families? Yes, we do have a term for it, and it is 大家闺秀 da4 jia1 gui1 xiu4 （literally, it means big family Chamber’s beauty) which means a high bred belle, a royal beauty or a little princess.
Isn’t it amazing that we can go so far from a Merry Christmas greeting to the wonderland of Barbie in one simple post 🙂
Saving Jane – Girls next door — 小家碧玉 xiao3 jia1 bi4 yu4
Our barbie princess — 大家闺秀 da4 jia1 gui1 xiu4