Chinese Tuesdays: Horses, immediately

Yes, I know it is not Tuesday. But I've been travelling, and Chinese Tuesdays is more than a day, it is a state of mind.

You're probably already fed up with new year's good wishes and horse puns (or even more irritating, these little suckers), but they're not going to go away so you might as well learn a few of the better ones to inflict on others. Courtesy of Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!:

马上有 … (mǎshàng yǒu) – The first word, mǎ, means horse, but if you pair it together with the second word, shàng, it means “immediately have”, so it’s a pun right there. You can say 马上有钱 (mǎ shàng yǒu qián) – which refers to getting rich immediately, 马上有对象 (mǎ shàng yǒu duì xiàng) – which means to meet your match, and 马上有房 (mǎ shàng yǒu fáng) – which means to get a house.

马到成功 (mǎ dào chéng gōng) – May you be successful in the new year! [The idiom itself means "instant success", so in this context it's a pun.]

一马当先 (yī mǎ dāng xiān) – May you take the lead this coming year. [Ditto, a pun on this existing idiom that means "to take the lead".]

龙马精神 (lóng mǎ jīng shén) – May you have the strength of the dragon and the horse!

马年吉祥 (mǎ nián jí xiáng) – May you be lucky in the year of the horse!

马年如意 (mǎ nián rúyì) – May everything go your way during the year of the horse.

That blog also has a very useful list of standard greetings for the new year, to deploy at will and quickfire.

Enjoy the loud noises. Regular posting resumes tomorrow.