Posted by Andrew
The other day I was talking with a friend and the topic of 地理 (geography) came up. He was very quick to 坦率地承认 (frankly admit) that he didn’t know where 新西兰 (New Zealand) was until recently, and that he had always thought it was in 欧洲 (Europe). Better late than never, I suppose. Later, he mentioned New Zealand again and said something about a New Zealand cartoon girl wearing a New Zealand hat milking a cow next to a 风车 (windmill). Was he thinking of Holland? At least he knows where New Zealand is on the map. On the topic of maps, before coming to China I had never seen a world map with China in the 中间 (center). Even world maps in the US don’t have the US in the center. Thinking about this from another 角度 (angle), China’s name does technically translate as “middle kingdom.” Curious about if other acquaintances knew where New Zealand was, one said that he knew the 大概的位置 (general location) but could not specifically point it out.
地理 di4li3 - geography
坦率地承认 - tan3shuai4
新西兰 xin1xi1lan2 - New Zealand
欧洲 ou1zhou1 - Europe
风车 feng1che1 - windmill
中间 zhong1jian1 - middle, center
角度 jiao3du4 - angle
大概 da4gai4 - general/basic
位置 wei4zhi2 - location
Posted by Andrew
Yesterday was another day in Hong Kong. I met up with a classmate whom I hadn’t seen for years, browsed the English book selection, and then made my decision about how I would get back to Shenzhen that night. The opportunity to 坐船 (ride a boat) won out over the other choices, and I made my way to the ferry terminal in 中环 (Central). The price difference between the regular class seats and those in 头等舱 (first class) was negligible- $30HKD ($3.87 USD by today’s rates), in other words, 差不了多少钱 (no major difference between the prices). I had the cabin to myself and even was offered a drink. Being in Hong Kong, I opted for 奶茶 (milk tea) and asked how much it was (my instincts of ‘everything costs something’ had kicked in). To my surprise, it was 送的 (complimentary). However, I may need to conduct some 美白 (whitening - this term is usually used in cosmetics) for my 牙齿 (teeth) after the amount of tea I’ve been drinking since moving to near Hong Kong. The boat arrived in 蛇口 (Shekou, a port in Shenzhen), and the border control had additional security as was mentioned in a previous entry. I stood in line (with my valid documents) and remained 沉默 (silent) as my passport was stamped. All in all, a very 顺利 (smooth) experience- until I had to get from western Shenzhen back to where I live, that is.
坐船 zuo4chuan2 - ride a boat
中环 zhong1huan2 - Central, a district on the western part of Hong Kong Island
头等舱 - tou2deng3cang1 - First Class (lit. head level cabin)
差不了多少钱 - cha4bu4liao3duo1shao3qian2 - not a large difference between the two amounts
奶茶 - nai3cha2 - Milk Tea
送的 - song4de - given (complimentary in this sense)
美白 mei3bai2 - whitening (lit. beauty white- mostly used in skin-whitening products)
牙齿 ya2chi3 - teeth
蛇口 she2kou3 - Shekou (lit. snake mouth), a port in Shenzhen
沉默 chen2mo4 - silent/silence
顺利 shun4li4 - smooth (used to refer to a process, not to the texture of an object)
Posted by Andrew
Hi Readers!
I have a rather interesting bit of 消息 (news). I am not very 得意 (self-satisfied), nor am I 自卑 (self-abasing)- in fact I try to avoid 吹牛 (boasting) at all costs. On to the news - the other month, I was interviewed for an article which recently ran on many websites, including the 杂志 (magazine) 福布斯 (Forbes). A separate, translated 中文版 (Chinese version) of the article surfaced, but had some information omitted. All told, the 采访 (interview) by 美联社 (the associated press) was interesting. As a result of this interview, I have now seen people on LinkedIn 把我加为好友 (add me as a friend).
消息 xiao1xi4 - news
得意 de2yi4 - self-satisfied
自卑 zi4bei1 - self-abasing
吹牛 chui1niu2 - boast
杂志 za2zhi4 - magazine
福布斯 fu4bu4si1 - Forbes
中文版 zhong1wen2ban3 - Chinese version
采访 cai3(2)fang3 - interview
美联社 mei3lian2she4 - Associated Press
把我加为好友. ba3(2)wo3jia1wei2hao3(2)you3 - Add[ed] me as a friend
Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
Today I’d like to share a couple of my favorite idioms in Chinese.
先斩后奏 xian1zhan3hou4zou4 - act first and report afterwards. This refers to when somebody has done something without asking for permission first. It’s something like “shoot first, ask questions later.”
破釜沉舟 po4fu2chen2zhou1 - Break the Pots and Sink the Boats. This refers to a story where a general told his troops upon reaching land that they had to break their pots and sink their boats. This way, the soldiers would be fighting to eat. This phrase is used to refer to an act where somebody removes all factors/obstacles that would allow them to stay where they are.
山外有山 shan1wai4you3shan1 - There are mountains beyond the mountains. This can be used to mean “there’s always something better,” or “nothing can be perfect.” I prefer the latter meaning, as I don’t interpret the phrase to necessarily mean “the grass is always greener on the other side.” I usually interpret it as “well although there are things beyond what you’re doing, that fact is irrelevant.”
对牛弹琴 dui4niu2tan2qin2 - Playing a Zither to a Cow. This is one of the first proverbs I learned, and is almost entirely equivalent to “[to cast] pearls before swine. Stay tuned for more proverbs!
Posted by Andrew
Hello Readers!
车到山前必有路, 船到桥头自然直 (che1 dao4 shan1qian2 bi4you3lu4, chuan2dao4qiao2tou2zi4ran2zhi2) (There must be a road for the car to go to the mountain, a boat will straighten out under a bridge)- This is a phrase kind of like “things work out in the end.” This is a phrase that I learned while studying Chinese in college, and I’ve always fallen back on this phrase when asked about how I expect something to turn out.
与君一夕谈, 胜读十年书 - (yu2jun1yi1xi1tan2, sheng4du2shi2nian2shu1) (Speaking with you [formal] conquers 10 years of study) It took me a little while to find an appropriate translation. I’d sum it up best as “having spoken with you, I’ve learned more than I would have from 10 years of study.” I learned this phrase while conversing with a teacher who is the aunt of a friend of mine- we had been talking about several topics for an extended period of time and this phrase came up. I was delighted, for this was a phrase I had been looking for for quite some time.
读万卷书不如行万里路 (du2wan4juan4shu1bu4ru2xing2wan4li3lu4) (Reading 10,000 books does not compare to traveling 10,000 li.) A li is about 500m (as of the Han dynasty, according to wikipedia). This is a good phrase to consider if you’re on the fence about if you should travel or not with all other things being considered. You could learn more outside the house than on a day on, say, wikipedia! Coming up I’ll discuss my favorite (and most useful) 成语 in Chinese.
