Chinese wedding invitations wording
Layout and basic content
Chinese wedding invitations wording are vertical and read from right to left. Information for the groom will be presented first before information of the bride.
The chinese wedding invitation will include the following information as a minimum:
- the Gregorian calendar and chinese calendar dates, if available, for the wedding banquet,
- order of birth and names of the bride and groom,
- name of the parents,
- dinner venue,
- time for cocktail reception,
- time for dinner.
Using the sample in the PDF file, chinese wedding invitation wording co-host, I will briefly explain the content and what you may need to amend. (If you can't see the chinese text below, change the text encoding on your browser to Chinese simplified GB2312.)
The section will be structured as follows:
Explanation [Chinese wording]
¡°After careful consideration [½÷¶©], on such date of the Gregorian calendar [¹«Àú / ÑôÀú] and such date of the Chinese calendar [Å©Àú], on such day of the week [ÐÇÆÚ], our eldest son [³¤ÄÐ], XY and our youngest daughter [Ó×Å®]£¬XX will have their wedding ceremony [¾ÙÐнá»éµäÀñ].
We will prepare food and drinks [¾´±¸±¡×Ã] in anticipation of your presence [¹âÁÙ].
By my father¡¯s order[·îÑÏÃü], Groom¡¯s parents, and
By my mother¡¯s order [·î´ÈÃü], Bride¡¯s parents,
we are co-hosting the dinner [ͬ¾´Ô¼].
We apologize in advance for any shortcoming in our service [Ë¡·¦] and please be punctual [¼Û´ß].
Address of dinner venue [ϯÉè,µØµã] and time [ʱ¼ä] for cocktail [Ó±ö¾Æ»á] and commencement of dinner [½úϯ] event.¡±
Things to amend:
1. Dates
2. Birth order and names of the bride and groom
3. Names of co-hosts or host
4. Indicate if grandparents of bride and groom are alive
5. Venue and Time
1£®Dates
If you have selected auspicious dates for the events of the chinese wedding then you will naturally have the chinese calendar dates and the Gregorian dates handy. Otherwise, you can just print the Gregorian dates on your chinese wedding invitation.
I am no calendar expert but for a quick reference only, the chinese year begins on the following dates:
Gregorian, chinese zodiac animal, chinese year
22 Jan 2004, Monkey, ¼×¼×
9 Feb 2005, Rooster, ÒÒÓÏ
29 Jan 2006, Dog, ±ûÐç
18 Feb 2007, Boar, ¶¡º¥
7 Feb 2008, Rat, Îì×Ó
26 Jan 2009, Ox, ¼º³ó
10 Feb 2010, Tiger, ¸ýÒú
3 Feb 2011, Rabbit, ÐÁî
23 Jan 2012, Dragon, Èɳ½
10 Feb 2013, Snake, ¹ïËÈ
31 Jan 2014, Horse, ¼×Îç
19 Feb 2015, Ram, ÒÒδ
9 Feb 2016, Monkey, ±û¼×
28 Jan 2017, Rooster, ¶¡ÓÏ
16 Feb 2018, Dog, ÎìÐç
5 Feb 2019, Boar, ¼ºº¥
25 Jan 2020, Rat, ¸ý×Ó
For the both the Gregorian calendar [¹«Àú / ÑôÀú] Chinese calendar, fill in year before [Äê] month before [ÔÂ] and date before [ÈÕ].
The twelve months are:
January£¬ Ò»ÔÂ
February£¬ ¶þÔÂ
March£¬ ÈýÔÂ
April£¬ ËÄÔÂ
May£¬ ÎåÔÂ
June£¬ ÁùÔÂ
July£¬ ÆßÔÂ
August£¬°ËÔÂ
September£¬ ¾ÅÔÂ
October£¬ Ê®ÔÂ
November£¬ ʮһÔÂ
December£¬ Ê®¶þÔÂ
The dates are:
1st Ò»ÈÕ
2nd ¶þÈÕ
3rd ÈýÈÕ
4th ËÄÈÕ
5th ÎåÈÕ
6th ÁùÈÕ
7th ÆßÈÕ
8th °ËÈÕ
9th ¾ÅÈÕ
10th Ê®ÈÕ
11th ʮһÈÕ
12th Ê®¶þÈÕ
13th Ê®ÈýÈÕ
14th Ê®ËÄÈÕ
15th Ê®ÎåÈÕ
16th Ê®ÁùÈÕ
17th Ê®ÆßÈÕ
18th Ê®°ËÈÕ
19th Ê®¾ÅÈÕ
20th ¶þÊ®ÈÕ
21st ¶þʮһÈÕ
22nd ¶þÊ®¶þÈÕ
23rd ¶þÊ®ÈýÈÕ
24th ¶þÊ®ËÄÈÕ
25th ¶þÊ®ÎåÈÕ
26th ¶þÊ®ÁùÈÕ
27th ¶þÊ®ÆßÈÕ
28th ¶þÊ®°ËÈÕ
29th ¶þÊ®¾ÅÈÕ
30th ÈýÊ®ÈÕ
31st ÈýʮһÈÕ
The days of the week are:
Monday ÐÇÆÚÒ»
Tuesday ÐÇÆÚ¶þ
Wednesday ÐÇÆÚÈý
Thursday ÐÇÆÚËÄ
Friday ÐÇÆÚÎå
Saturday ÐÇÆÚÁù
Sunday ÐÇÆÚÈÕ or ÐÇÆÚÌì
2£®Birth order and names of the bride and groom
The wording for addressing the bride and groom on the invitation will depend on who is hosting the wedding banquet.
If the wedding banquet is co-hosted by the parents, the names of the bride and groom are usually written without the surname.
If the parents have both passed away, then an elder member usually on the paternal side such as the father¡¯s sibling or even an elder brother of the bride and groom may host the wedding banquet.
When the dinner is hosted by parents the order of birth of the bride [Å®] and groom [ÄÐ] will be mentioned.
Order of birth:
Eldest- ³¤
Second- ´Î
Third- Èý
Fourth- ËÄ
Fifth- Îé
Sixth- Áù
Seventh- Æß
Eight- °Ë
Ninth- ¾Å
Tenth- Ê°
Youngest- Ó×
If hosted by one of the paternal grandparent [×游ĸ] the birth order and name of the late father, in addition to the bride or groom¡¯s birth order may be stated. E.g. my late eldest son xx¡¯s eldest daughter xy [Òѹʳ¤×ÓxxÖ®³¤Å®xy].
If there is no wish to mention if the father is alive or not, then simply state that bride or groom is the host¡¯s granddaughter [ÄÚËïÅ®] or grandson [ÄÚËï].
If hosted by the paternal uncle, and there is no wish to mention if the father is alive or not, then simply state that bride or groom is the host¡¯s niece [ֶŮ] or nephew [Ö¶¶ù].
If hosted by an elder brother, simply state the bride or groom¡¯s position in relation to the host, e.g. second sister [´ÎÃÃ] or second brother [´ÎµÜ].
3. Names of co-hosts or host
If both parents are alive, the chinese equivalent of ¡°Mr & Mrs¡± [·ò¸¾] will be used.
If only the father is alive, use Mister [ÏÈÉú] after the parent¡¯s name.
If only the mother is alive, use the mother¡¯s married name followed by [Ůʿ]. See this pdf file, Chinese wedding invitation wording co-host by bride's mum only
for sample.
Married name is the maiden name with the addition of the husband¡¯s surname. For example [ÕųÂϸÃÃŮʿ] where [³ÂϸÃÃ] is the maiden name and the husband¡¯s surname is [ÕÅ]
If the mother is not using the husband¡¯s surname, then remember to add the surname before the bride¡¯s or groom¡¯s name.
Co-hosted
If the wedding banquet is paid jointly by the bride and groom¡¯s family, then the invitation will have the names of both set of parents appearing before the phrase co-hosted [ͬ¾´Ô¼].
Hosted by groom¡¯s parents only
In many cases, the bride¡¯s parents may choose to invite only the closest of relatives and friends to the wedding dinner utilizing only the number of tables included as part of the betrothal gifts. In such cases, only the groom¡¯s parents name will appear before hosted [¾´Ô¼].
In addition, the bride¡¯s name will not be written side by side with the groom¡¯s. Her parent¡¯s name will be inserted after the groom¡¯s name and before her name.
See sample PDF file Chinese wedding invitation no cohost.
4. Indicate if grandparents of bride and groom are alive
If the grandparents of the bride and groom are alive, then it will be mentioned above the names of the parents.
If the grandfather is alive, it will state [·îÑÏÃü]. If only the grandmother is alive, then it will state [·î´ÈÃü]. If both the grandparents have passed away, then it is left blank.
5. Venue and Time
Unless chinese is used regularly as part of the address system in the country it may be more confusing than helpful when included.
Include a location map whenever you can. Remember to state the ballroom or hall for the wedding banquet especially if there are a few within the same venue.
The commencement time for cocktails, dinner and any other events should be clearly stated.
Now that you know how to write your own chinese wedding invitations, learn to address the chinese wedding invitation envelopes.
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