Posts from November 2009

The Past Weekend

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Nov 29 2009

Last weekend I was on my way in a bus to 汕头 (shantou) when a 交通事故 (traffic accident) on the road slowed the bus and all other traffic to a near-standstill for roughly 1.5 hours.  I wasn’t too concerned though, as I was learning about the production of denim jeans and the annoyances of 超标 (exceeding standards) and achieving 合格 (meeting standards) from a 孕妇 (pregnant woman) from Fujian who had just come back from an OB/GYN visit in Hong Kong.  We also discussed the 机制 (systems) of both China and the USA, and she asked me what I thought about those who went to the states to 淘金 (dig for gold).  The next morning in Shantou, I rode to a dock with a ferry on a driven 摩托车 (motorcycle) as that appears to be the prime method of transportation there aside from 三轮车 (tricycles).  Although the taxis have meters, you may still find yourself having to 砍价 (haggle over the price).

汕头 shan4tou2 – a city in eastern Guangdong Province
交通事故 jiao1tong1shi4gu4 – traffic accident
超标 chao1biao1 – exceeding standards
合格 he2ge2 – meeting standards
孕妇 yun4fu4 – pregnant woman
机制 ji1zhi4 – systems (can be organizational/political)
淘金 tao3jin1 – dig for gold
摩托车  mo2tuo2che1 – motorcycle
三轮车 san1lun2che1 – tricycle (powered/unpowered)
砍价 kan3jia4 – haggle over the price

Phrasings between the north and south

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Nov 25 2009

Between northern and southern China, there are many linguistic differences.  Differing dialects aside, there are also general lexical differences- similar to the “soda” and “pop” phenomenon in the US.  If someone says they’ll give you something 晚一点 (a bit later) in the north, they’d say 迟一点 (a bit later) in the south.  What people down south refer to as 雪糕 (ice cream) is more commonly referred to as 冰淇淋 (ice cream) up north.  One of the most interesting misunderstandings that I had down south was when I was first picked up from the airport, people were saying how that area always 塞车 (had traffic).  I misheard this as 赛车 (car racing) and couldn’t imagine how there could possibly be car-racing with so much traffic.  It wasn’t until later that I realized that 堵车 (traffic) isn’t a common phrasing in the far south.  Phrases that I have seemingly left behind in Beijing include 倍儿 (really) and 瞧你 (look at you!).  Alas, I will have to work more on my 白话 (common speech, used here to mean Cantonese).

晚 wan3 – late
迟 chi2 – late (usually used for 迟到 – to be late)
雪糕 xue3gao1 – ice cream (lit. snow cake)
冰淇淋 bing1qi2lin2 – ice cream
塞车 sai1che1 – to have bad traffic
赛车 sai4che1 – to race cars
堵车 du3che1 – to have bad traffic
倍儿 bei4er (sounds like “burr”) – really, very
瞧你 qiao2ni3 – (lit. “look you”) look at you!
白话 bai2hua4 – common speech, here meaning Cantonese

Windows of the World

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Nov 22 2009

The other day I went to a tourist attraction in Shenzhen called Windows of the World.  There are models of all sorts of famous buildings, but one thing that took me by surprise was the 室内滑雪 (indoor skiing) and a 滑冰场 (ice skating rink)!  Luckily, there were 靴子 (boots) available for visitors who weren’t wearing appropriate footwear.  I hadn’t expected to see a 10-ft tall 比萨斜塔 (Leaning Tower of Pisa), and what appeared to be the 东方明珠 (Pearl of the Orient) turned out to be a tower from Kuwait.  The replica of the 圣母院 (Notre Dame Cathedral) was breathtakingly identical, but I cannot say that authenticity was consistent throughout the park.  For example, the word “ALOHA” was painted on some 毛利 (Maori) dwellings, and wood-carved necklaces bearing all 12 生肖 were available for sale.

室内 shi4nei4 – indoor
滑雪 hua2xue3 – skiing
滑冰场 hua2bing1chang3 – ice skating rink
比萨 bi3sa4 – Pisa
斜 xie2 – leaning
塔 ta3 – tower
东方明珠 dong1fang1ming2zhu1 – Pearl of the Orient (a tower in Shanghai)
靴子 xue1zi3 – boots
圣母院  sheng4mu4yuan4 -
毛利 mao2li4 – Maori
生肖 sheng1xiao1 – Chinese zodiac

changing coins to bills – harder than it seemed

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Nov 18 2009

The other day, I wanted to take the pile of 硬币 (coins) from my room and 换纸币 (exchange them for bills).  The people at the nearby bank told me that they didn’t want my bills, well that was my first time to 听到 (hear) a bank didn’t want any money- maybe I should have asked them if they would take the coins at less than their 面额 (face value).  It wasn’t long before I was counting out my coins at the 打包台 (wrapping table) of a nearby supermarket.  A man in a suit came over and 碰 (poked/bumped) one of my coin stacks.  Naturally, it began to 掉 (fall down).  He looked surprised, at which point I remarked 你碰了它才掉了 (it only fell because you touched it).  He took this as his lead to 咨询 (inquire) about my job.  My only thought was- next time please find a better icebreaker than knocking over my coins.

硬币 ying4bi4 – coins
换 huan4 – change, exchange
纸币 zhi3bi4 – bills
听到 ting1dao4 – to hear something
面额 mian4e2 – face value
打包台dabaotai da3bao1tai2 – table where items are wrapped, wrapping table
碰 peng4 – bump, touch
掉 diao4 – fall down
咨询 zi1xun2 – inquire

stuck at the border

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Nov 15 2009

Hello readers!

Some days the border crossing can be quick, other days it can feel like molasses.

The other night I was coming back over the border to Shenzhen and was stuck in a line that remained motionless while all the other lines advanced at a rate of one person per roughly 45 seconds.  We were all told by the 值班队长 (on-duty captain) to make sure that our entry cards were filled out.  I suspect that the delay was caused by a person whose China visa had 失效 (lost effect), because that person was later taken to another room at the station.  On another note, of all border crossings that I have been to, 福田口岸 (Futian border crossing) was easily the slowest I have ever been to.  Alas, neither crossing went smoothly.  Back to the other night- after clearing HK exit customs, I hopped on a 班车 (shuttle) thinking that I would have an easy time crossing on the China side.  What I did not know was that someone would try to 让 (make) the driver 掉头 (turn around) as there was a person who left a bag on the bus while he 本人 (himself) ran to the bathroom.  After exiting China customs, there was the usual array of 不正当 (unordinary) transport options available, including unlicensed taxis, vans, and maybe even trucks.  As I hopped into a licensed taxi, I wondered what an expert in 金融 (finance) would have to say about this border transport micro-economy.

值班 zhi2ban1 – on-duty
队长 dui4zhang2 – team captain
失效 shi1xiao4 – lose effect
福田口岸 fu2tian2kou3an4 – Futian Border Crossing
班车 ban1che1 – shuttle
让 rang4 – make, have sb. do sth.
掉头 diao4tou2 – turn around
本人 ben3ren2 – [himself]
不正当 bu2zheng4dang1 – unordinary
金融 jin1rong2 – finance

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