Posted by Andrew
The other day I went to a hospital for a 体检 (health inspection) which is part of the application process for a 居留证 (residence permit). The first step included going to the hospital and 填表 (filling in a form) regarding basic health information, and the bottom of the form has a part where you have to 打钩 (make a check mark) next to diseases you have or had in the past. Because I used to have 哮喘 (asthma), I decided to indicate it for the reference of the doctors. After filling out the form, the receptionist typed my data into the computer, printed out a copy, and asked me to 核对 (check if the information was correct). Normally I don’t think that people would 输错 (input [data] incorrectly), but you have to check for even the smallest 错误 (mistake/accident) in these types of situations. Well, imagine my surprise when my checkbox for “asthma” was marked by the receptionist as 肝炎 (hepatitis)! Aside from being incorrect and having multiple medical consequences, hepatitis is one of the diseases that puts a person on the 黑名单 (black list), effectively crushing that person’s chances at a residence permit, much less another visa into the country! Always check your forms, readers!
体检 ti2(3)jian3 - health inspection
居留证 ju1liu2zheng4 - residence permit
填表 tian2biao3 - fill in a form
打钩 da3gou1 - make a check mark
哮喘 xiao1chuan2 - asthma
肝炎 gan1yan2 - hepatitis
黑名单 hei1ming2dan1 - black list
核对 he2dui4 - check if [something] is correct
输错 shu1cuo4 - input incorrectly
错误 cuo4wu4 - error
Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
Have you ever invested in China before? Maybe you’ve heard about the recent 轮胎关税 (tire tariffs) issue. To be sure, a lot of people are investing here. Some people buy shares in an 指数基金 (index fund), while others dream of one day running their own 私募 (private equity) venture. Take a good long look at your 走势图 (trend charts) and do your best to predict the next 升跌 (rise and/or fall) to make your fortune. Betting on downward trends of Chinese 股票 (stocks) is prohibited by Chinese 国家规定 (nationwide regulations), so don’t hedge your financial future on risky 赌博 (gambling) when someone offers you an opportunity to short a stock here.
轮胎 lun2tai1 - tires
关税 guan1shui4 - tariff
指数 zhi3shu4 - index
基金 ji1jin1 - fund
私募 si1mu4 - private equity
走势图 zou3shi4tu2 - trend chart
上升 shang4sheng1 - rise, go up
跌 die3 - fall
股票 gu3piao4 - stock
国家规定 guo2jia1gui1ding4 - national rule/regulation
赌博 du3bo2 - gambling
Posted by Andrew
Today I went to HK in search of 壶铃 (kettlebells) at one store and imported 辣椒酱 (hot sauce) of a particular brand at another. While I ended up searching for the kettlebells on 淘宝 (Taobao, an online Chinese retailer), I’m still happy to have made the effort to look. I was able to find some 风干肉 (air-cured meat) for sale at the imported foods market, although it was being sold at a 昂贵 (very expensive) price. As I took the boat across the harbor with a high school classmate, I realized that the ferry operators must be 亏本 (losing money) as they do not put advertisements on the interior of the boats. Not long afterward, I realized that they must have rights to the 码头 (piers), potentially guaranteeing their revenues. After returning to Shenzhen, I played arcade games with my classmate and found that the 金币 (gold coins [used to play the games]) cost only 0.5RMB (that’s roughly 7 cents in US Dollar terms). What an inexpensive way to have fun! We probably could have gotten to the arcade earlier if my friend’s passport hadn’t 烂掉 (fallen/rotten apart) in the washing machine several weeks ago, requiring that he get a replacement and produce 2 passports at border control (the rotten one with the current visa and the new, undefaced one). We grabbed some 牛腩 (beef tenderloin) curry and were on our way to the next adventure.
壶铃 hu2ling2 - kettlebell (a type of weight shaped like a cannonball with a U-shaped handle)
辣椒酱 la4jiao1jiang4 - hot sauce
淘宝 tao2(3)bao3 - Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce site
风干肉 feng1gan1rou4 - air-cured meat
昂贵 ang2gui4 - (highly) expensive
亏本 kui1ben3 - losing money (losing operating expenses)
码头 ma3tou2 - pier/dock
金币 jin1bi4 - gold coin
烂掉 lan4diao4 - to rot/fall/come apart (specifically referring to objects)
牛腩 niu2nan2 - beef tenderloin
Posted by Andrew
For those who remember the entry where I spent an hour looking for a pizza place in Beijing, the hunt is on again in Shenzhen. There is a great pizza place here run by a 华裔 (overseas Chinese - in this case ABC) from New York- rather than a 海归 (Chinese returned from abroad) or a franchise owner. The specialty of the place is that it has 进口烤箱 (imported ovens) and the pizza dough is 全麦 (whole wheat). I found myself most amazed at the quality of the 芝士 (cheese). When you have all but 吃腻了 (gotten sick of [from eating too much]) takeout restaurant food and you 吃不下 (cannot physically eat) anything but familiar foods, this pizza place sounded like a good idea. As soon as my pizza arrived, I took one look and knew I’d happily 吃得完 (finish the whole thing), just another 宵夜 (late night snack) in hustle-bustle Shenzhen.
华裔 hua2yi4 - overseas person of Chinese descent
海归 hai3gui1 - Chinese returning from overseas
进口 jin4kou3 - imported
烤箱 kao3xiang1 - oven
芝士 zhi1shi4 - cheese
吃腻了 chi1ni4le - to have had one’s fill of a particular food, to no longer be able to eat a certain food
吃不下 chi1bu2xia4 can’t physically eat
吃得完 chi1de1wan2 - able to finish a food
宵夜 xiao1ye4 - midnight snacks - note: it’s called 夜宵 up north, but 宵夜 comes from Cantonese (as far as I can tell)
全麦 quan2mai4 - whole wheat
Posted by Andrew
I got back to Shenzhen from Beijing, and found myself coming down with some 水土不服 (stomach problems)- I surmise that I was somewhat 不习惯 (unaccustomed) to the dietary changes from the wedding and being up north, but I drank plenty of 热水 (hot water) and 粥 (rice porridge) to aid my recovery. I’m still waiting for my things to come down by railroad from Beijing. The bags are normally sent back if they contain any 液体 (liquid) or 气体 (gas) items. When the bags arrive in Shenzhen, they won’t be able to 送货 (deliver), so I will have to go to the train station in order to 领取 (pick them up). When I called the other day to 查询 (inquire) about the progress of the move, I couldn’t get through to anybody. All I know is that when the bags do arrive, I’d better use a vehicle suited to 搬运 (moving), or maybe 2 cabs.
水土不服 shui3(2)tu3bu4fu2 - unaccustomed to a place (lit. water dirt uncomfortable). used to refer to when a person has stomach problems or other ills as a result of travel
不习惯 bu4xi2guan4 - unaccustomed to
热水 re4shui3 - hot water
粥 zhou1 - rice porridge
液体 ye4ti3- liquid
气体 qi4ti3 - gas
送货 song4huo4 - deliver items
领取 ling3(2)qu3 - to pick up (from a place)
查询 cha2xun2 - inquire
搬运 ban1yun4 - moving (as in a moving company)
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