Conversation:

A more common name of that particular day would be "Qi1 xi4"; literally, the Night of Seven, since in folklore the two lovers can only come together on the night of the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. "Qi1 qiao2 jie2" means Seven-Bridge-Night, and is actually quite obscure (at least here in Taiwan; but as far as I know they say "Qixi" in Mainland China as well).

Hi piatigorsky,

Thanks for your comment - I didn't realise this. Numbers appeared in your posting which confused me a little - is it "Qi Xi"?

I guess the numbers refer to intonation as described in A329942 Handy Mandarin with "2" indicating 'rising' tone (like a question), and "4" indicating 'sharp falling' (!abrupt)

Pimms