As the United State Presidential Election approaches, this is a great opportunity to learn some vocabulary that relates to this important event. No matter which party you support, the election itself is a very valuable event to celebrate. We are going to introduce 15 election related vocabulary in Chinese with a fun infographic.
Presidential Election Vocabulary
总统 / 總統 zǒngtǒng, President
If you would like to say a specific president of a country, place the country name before “总统”
For instance,
美国总统 / 美國總統
měiguó zǒngtǒng
The President of the United States
法国总统 / 法國總統
fàguó zǒngtǒng
The President of France
选举 / 選舉 xuǎnjǔ, Election
If you separate “选举” these two words,
选 xuǎ means to choose, to select, and
举 jǔ means lift up, recommend.
So when you combine them together, you would like to choose someone that you recommend, that’s what 选举 means.
Example:
美国总统选举 / 美國總統選舉
Měiguó zǒngtǒng xuǎnjǔ
United States Presidential Election
宪法 / 憲法 xiànfǎ, Constitution
The United State Presidential Election is based on the Constitution of United States, which you can say as:
美国宪法 / 美國憲法
Měiguó xiànfǎ
政党 / 政黨 zhèngdǎng, Political Party
Example:
美国有两个主要的政党。/ 美國有兩個主要的政黨。
Měiguó yǒu liǎng gè zhǔyào de zhèngdǎng.
There are two major political parties in the United States.
民主党 / 民主黨 mínzhǔdǎng, Democratic Party
Democratic Party color: blue
Election symbol: Donkey
Example:
民主党提名乔·拜登为总统候选人。
民主黨提名喬·拜登為總統候選人。
Mínzhǔdǎng tímíng qiáo · bài dēng wèi zǒngtǒng hòuxuǎn rén.
The Democratic Party nominates Joe Biden as its presidential candidate.
共和党 / 共和黨 gònghédǎng, Republican Party
Republican Party color: red
Election symbol: Elephant
Example:
共和党提名唐纳·川普为总统候选人。
共和黨提名唐納·川普為總統候選人。
Gònghédǎng tímíng táng nà·chuān pǔ wèi zǒngtǒng hòuxuǎn rén.
The Republican Party nominates Donald Trump as its presidential candidate.
竞选 / 競選 jìngxuǎn, Campaign
竞 means to compete.
竞选 means someone is running for office, to take part in an election.
Example:
竞选团队 / 競選團隊
jìngxuǎn tuánduì
Campaign team
民调 / 民調 mín diào, Poll
民调 is short for 民意调查 mínyì diàochá.
民意 mínyì means public opinion, public will,
调查 diàochá means investigation, survey.
The major parties use poll analyses to help them manage the campaign.
We usually use these two words to describe if someone is polling higher or lower, 高 gāo means high, tall, while 低 dī means low.
We usually say
民调高 / 民調高 mín diào gāo and
民调低 / 民調低 mín diào dī.
候选人 / 候選人 hòuxuǎn rén, Candidate
Example:
这场选举里有三位候选人。
這場選舉力有三位候選人。
Zhè chǎng xuǎnjǔ li yǒusān wèi hòuxuǎn rén.
There are three candidates in this election.
支持 / 支持 zhīchí, support, endorsement
If you support a certain candidate, you can say it as:
我支持 … Wǒ zhīchí …, or
我是 … 的支持者 Wǒ shì… de zhīchí zhě. 支持者 is supporter.
辩论 / 辯論 biànlùn, debate
Presidential debates have taken place in the US since 1960.
Example:
二零二零年美国总统辩论在俄亥俄州克里夫兰举行。
二零二零年美國總統辯論在俄亥俄州克里夫蘭舉行。
Èr líng èr líng nián měiguó zǒngtǒng biànlùn zài éhài’é zhōu kè lǐ fū lán jǔxíng.
The first United States presidential debate of 2020 was held in Cleveland, Ohio
摇摆州 / 搖擺州 yáobǎi zhōu, Swing states
Swing states is a phrase often mentioned during the US election. 摇摆 means rock this way and that way. The idiom 摇摆不定 describes a person that cannot make a decision.
Example:
俄亥俄州是一个摇摆州。
俄亥俄州是一个搖擺州。
Éhài’é zhōu shì yīgè yáobǎi zhōu.
Ohio is one of the swing states.
投票日 / 投票日 tóupiào rì, Voting date
Example:
二零二零年十一月三日是投票日。
Èr líng èr líng nián shíyī yuè sān rì shì tóupiào rì.
November 3rd, 2020 is the voting day.
选票 / 選票 xuǎnpiào, Ballot
We only use “选票” as a noun in Chinese.
Example:
得到最多选票的候选人当选。
Dédào zuìduō xuǎnpiào de hòuxuǎn rén dāngxuǎn.
The candidate who gets more votes (ballots) wins.
投票 / 投票 tóupiào, To vote
Example:
二零二零年十一月三日是投票日。
Èr líng èr líng nián shíyī yuè sān rì shì tóupiào rì.
November 3rd, 2020 is the voting day.
Presidential Election Vocabulary Infographic - Simplified Chinese Version
Presidential Election Vocabulary Infographic - Traditional Chinese Version
