Yajie: Cam, how do you think you would respond if somebody said zhu ni sheng ri kuai le?
Cam: Could I say:  xie xie?
Yajie: Yes, that’s right.  Sometimes people just say 生日快乐 for short.
Cam: Ok, this sounds reasonable, because  祝你 means wishing you….  In English, we say Happy Birthday for short instead of Happy Birthday to you.  When wishing somebody a happy birthday, it’s not necessary to specify the person.  So it’s the same as Chinese.  There is no need to say祝你(zhù nǐ).
Yajie: You got it. Besides生日快乐, there are other relevant expressions. For example, you can say祝你身体健康 which means “I wish you good health”  身体is body. 身, s-h-e-n, shēn, the first tone; 体, t-i, tǐ, the third tone.
Cam: 身体, shēn tǐ.
Yajie: And 健康 means fine, or healthy. 健, jiàn, the forth tone; 康, k-a-ng-, kāng, the first tone.
Cam: 健康 (jiànkāng).
Yajie: Together you can say祝你身体健康(zhù nǐ shēntǐ jiànkāng).
Cam: 祝你身体健康(zhù nǐ shēntǐ jiànkāng).

**********Key words reminder
Today we’ve learned three different expressions to wish someone a happy birthday 祝你生日快乐！Happy Birthday! 祝你身体健康！I wish you good health!
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Yajie: If an senior person is having a birthday, you could say:  祝您健康长寿！
Cam: 祝您健康长寿！(zhù nín jiànkāng chángshòu!)
Yajie: Yes, 长寿 means longevity. I wish you good health and a long life. 祝您健康长寿！You can say this to your grandparents!
Cam: 祝您健康长寿！(zhù nín jiànkāng chángshòu!)  You can also say this if somebody is not having a party, right?
Yajie: Yes, very good!  Well, class is over for this time. Don’t forget you can win a gift by answering the question of the day in Chinese: what will you say to a Chinese friend on his/her birthday?
Cam: You can send us questions or comments to Chinese@crifm.com.  That’s Chinese@crifm.com.  Or you can visit us on our website at en.chinabroadcast.cn. Click learn Chinese, where you can enjoy other free Chinese-learning programs.
Yajie: Well class is over. 再见!
Cam: 再见!

(Written by Zhao Pingping)