Posted by Andrew
Tomorrow I am going to a 射击场 (shooting range) with a friend and his friend to celebrate a belated birthday. We’re going to the international shooting range! There I hope to 开枪 (shoot guns) with great gusto! At the range they have 手枪 (pistols), 冲锋枪 (machine guns), and even 猎枪 (shotguns). I hope to 打中 (hit) some targets while paying the utmost of attention to 安全 (safety). I’m planning our 路程 (route) so we can get to the range. I heard that it is staffed by people from the 军队 (military). I hope that everyone enjoys their time and winds up 开心 (happy) by the end!
words
射击场 she4ji1chang3 - shooting range
开枪 kai1qiang1 - shoot guns
手枪 shou3qiang1 - pistol
冲锋枪 chong1feng1qiang1 - machine gun
猎枪 lie4qiang1 - shotgun
打中 da3zhong4 - to successfully hit
安全 an1quan2 - safety
路程 lu4cheng2 - route
军队 jun1dui4 - military
开心 kai1xin1 - happy
Posted by Andrew
Today’s weather is pretty noteworthy here in Beijing, as it’s pretty cloudy (unusual for a dry place) and the temperature has dropped from recent comfortable levels.
I sent out a request for a weather report using my cellphone (a request for 天气查询) and here’s what I got: [bolding mine]
北京23日白天： 阴天间多云有阵雨。 偏南风2， 3级， 最高15. 夜间阴有阵雨南转北风2， 3级， 最低7.
Based on this, it looks like for April 23, Beijing will be cloudy during the day with showers and south winds of category 2 and 3 with a high of 15C. Tonight the weather will still be cloudy with showers with the winds shifting to the north still at category 2 and 3 with a low of 7C.
Words:
天气 tian1qi4 weather
查询 cha2xun2 look up
白天 bai2tian1 during the day, daytime
阴天 yin1tian1 cloudy
多云 duo1yun2 cloudy
阵雨 zhen4yu3 showers
偏 pian1 tending
级 ji2 category
夜间 ye4jian1 nighttime
转 zhuan3 changing/shifting
What weather terms would you like to learn about in Chinese? Does the place where you are have any unique weather patterns?
Posted by Andrew
Tomorrow night I will be giving a 演讲 (lecture) about how a 官方翻译 (official translator, in this case me) learned Chinese. I will also 顺便 (passingly) mention where I work to the 观众 (audience) who will primarily be 外商 (foreign businesspeople). One important thing to remember is to have appropriate 语气 (tone/manner) with 足够的针对性 （sufficient targeting). Before the talk, I’ll have to 排练 (rehearse) a couple of times, but as long as I don’t speak too loudly into the 麦克风 (microphone), I should be all right.
Words
演讲 yan3(2)jiang3 - lecture/talk
官方 guan1fang1 - official
翻译 fan1yi4 - translate/translator
观众 guan1zhong4 - audience/spectators
外商 wai4shang1 - foreign businesspeople
语气 yu3qi4 - tone
足够 zu2gou4 - sufficient/enough
针对性 zhen1dui4xing4 - targetedness
麦克风 mai4ke4feng1 - microphone
Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
On account of the entries bunching up near 月底 (the end of the month) I quite 遗憾 (regret). 好在 (fortunately) my day job work 负担 (burden) shall become somewhat lighter over the coming days. The reason for this is that I have hired a 助理 (assistant) who is very much on the ball. After she 到位 (got to the job) she already has demonstrated an ability to 任职 (take on the responsibilities of the job) and act appropriately based on some simple 原则 (principles). It is great to be able to 分配 (assign) 任务 (tasks) when the work couldn’t be completed otherwise. Readers, comment on what industry you’re involved in and I’ll do my best to tell you the Chinese!
月底 yue4di3 - end of the month
遗憾 yi2han4 - regret
好在 hao3zai4 - fortunately
负担 fu4dan1 - burden
助理 zhu4li3 - assistant
到位 dao4wei4 - to begin a job
原则 yuan2ze2 - principle
任职 ren4zhi2 - to take the responsibilities of the job
分配 fen1pei4 - assign
任务 ren4wu4 - task, objective
Posted by Andrew
Hello Everyone!
I’ve been quite 忙 (busy) the past couple of days as my 父母 (parents) are here in Beijing and I want to 陪 (accompany) them while they 参观 (go sightseeing). So far we’ve seen some of the less 经典 (classic) sights, places such as the 赛艇场馆 (rowing venue), but we also saw the 鸟巢 (bird’s nest) and 水立方 (water cube). However, we did manage to eat some 北京烤鸭 (Peking duck) as well as see a performance by a 杂技团 (acrobatics troupe). Updates to follow!
words
忙 mang2 - busy
父母 fu4mu3 - parents
陪 pei2 - accompany
参观 can1guan1 - go sightseeing
经典 jingdian
赛艇场馆 sai4ting2chang2(3)guan3- rowing venue
鸟巢 niao3chao2 - bird’s nest
水立方 shui3li4fang1 - water cube
北京烤鸭 bei3jing1kao3ya1 - Peking duck
杂技团 za2ji4tuan2 - acrobatics troupe
