International Women's Day in Chinese 妇女节

fùnǚ jié

Women's Day in Chinese is 妇女节 (fù nǚ jié).

Also searched for as: Women's Day, March 8, IWD, Goddess Day, Happy Women's Day in Chinese.

March 8th: flowers, half a day off and a lot of sales. 15 words and phrases for International Women's Day in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.

International Women's Day on 8 March is 妇女节 (fù nǚ jié), often called 三八节 (sān bā jié), 'the three-eight festival'. In mainland China many workplaces give female staff 半天假 (bàn tiān jià), half a day off, and families give flowers, while shops have rebranded the day 女神节 (nǚ shén jié), 'Goddess Day', for their sales. These words help you send good wishes and also talk about the serious side, such as 男女平等 (nán nǚ píng děng), gender equality.

Usage tips

• 女性 (nǚ xìng) is the neutral, respectful word for women in writing and formal speech, 女生 (nǚ shēng) is common in conversation for girls and young women, and 女士 (nǚ shì) is the polite form of address, like Ms or madam.
• Under mainland China's official holiday rules, women are entitled to a half-day off on 8 March, though in practice not every employer gives it.
• 职场女性 (zhí chǎng nǚ xìng), working women, is a very common collocation in news, adverts and Women's Day events, and 同工同酬 (tóng gōng tóng chóu), equal pay for equal work, is the set phrase for pay equality.

Common mistakes

• Saying 三八节快乐 to wish someone a happy Women's Day: 三八 (sān bā) on its own is also an insult for a gossipy or annoying woman, so say 节日快乐 (jié rì kuài lè) or 妇女节快乐 (fù nǚ jié kuài lè) instead.
• Calling young women 妇女 (fù nǚ) in conversation: it sounds dated and suggests older married women, so use 女性 (nǚ xìng) or 女生 (nǚ shēng).

Mini dialogue

1. A明天是妇女节，你们公司放半天假吗？Míng tiān shì fù nǚ jié, nǐ men gōng sī fàng bàn tiān jià ma?It's Women's Day tomorrow. Does your company give you half a day off?
2. B放，下午我想陪妈妈去逛街。Fàng, xià wǔ wǒ xiǎng péi mā ma qù guàng jiē.Yes. I'm planning to take my mum shopping in the afternoon.
3. A正好，商场在搞女神节活动，很多东西打折。Zhèng hǎo, shāng chǎng zài gǎo nǚ shén jié huó dòng, hěn duō dōng xi dǎ zhé.Perfect timing, the shopping centres are doing Goddess Day promotions and loads of things are on sale.
4. B那我再给她买一束花。Nà wǒ zài gěi tā mǎi yī shù huā.Then I'll get her a bunch of flowers too.
5. A好主意。也祝你节日快乐！Hǎo zhǔ yi. Yě zhù nǐ jié rì kuài lè!Good idea. And happy Women's Day to you too!
6. B谢谢！Xiè xie!Thank you!

Example sentences

• 三月八号是妇女节。March 8th is Women's Day.
• 三八节你给妈妈打电话了吗？Did you call your mum on March 8th?
• 商场现在都叫女神节。Shopping centres all call it "Goddess Day" now.
• 大学里三月七号过女生节。Universities celebrate Girls' Day on March 7th.
• 很多单位妇女节女员工放半天假。At lots of workplaces, female staff get half a day off on Women's Day.
• 祝所有女性节日快乐！Happy Women's Day to all women!
• 妇女节是属于所有女性的节日。Women's Day is a day for all women.
• 男女平等还有很长的路要走。There's still a long way to go for gender equality.
• 同工同酬应该是最基本的。Equal pay should be the bare minimum.
• 这个活动是为了保护女性权益。This event is about protecting women's rights.
• 职场上的女性越来越多。There are more and more women in the workplace.
• 她是一个很独立的女性。She's a very independent woman.
• 妇女节我给妈妈送花。I gave my mum flowers on Women's Day.
• 公司给每个女同事准备了礼物。The company got a present for every female colleague.
• 女神节化妆品都在打折。Make-up is all on sale for Goddess Day.

Practise speaking

Ready to use these words? The International Women's Day speaking island has 8 everyday questions about International Women's Day to prepare your own answers to.

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• Canton Fair 广交会
• The Olympics 奥运会
• The World Cup 世界杯
• Football leagues 足球联赛
• Basketball leagues 篮球联赛
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