Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Proverbs I Enjoy Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 21, 2009
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…
Phrases I Like Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 17, 2009
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…
Typhoon Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 14, 2009
It’s 台风 (typhoon) season here in southern China, and in Hong Kong the warning level has gone up to 8级 (level 8) which is when they stop airplanes from flying. It’s been 暴雨 (raining heavily) all day, which has led to 降温 (a drop in temperature). Even the most 勤劳 (arduous) people from work had…
Living in Another Country Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 10, 2009
As someone who is living in 国外 (a foreign country/abroad) , there are a lot of 生活习惯 (lifestyle habits) and 观念 (values/views) that can be 适应不了 (impossible to adjust to). Sometimes it can be in the way people 思考 (think) about certain issues, and it may come off to local people as 抱怨 (complaining), 批评(criticism)…
Border Crossings Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 6, 2009
Today I wanted to 过关 (cross the border), and so I hopped on the usual 班车 (shuttle bus) to the border station. There I noticed a sign saying that you couldn’t carry more than 2000支 cigarettes. For purchasing bus tickets into the city, you can use 八达通 (octopus card) which is similar to Beijing’s 一卡通…
Relatively Speaking Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 4, 2009
When speaking another language, it can sometimes feel like trying to stick a square peg into a round hole. Some ideas in your native language do not carry over into the target language. Although plurals in English may often lose distinctions in Chinese, the most elusive counterpart may be a direct answer. When somebody says应该…
Ordering Food Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 30, 2009
The other day, I ordered one of my favorite foods, a 咖喱鸡饭套餐 (curry chicken set meal) complete with a 一杯冻奶茶 (cup of cold milk tea). It was going to be great, but what I hadn’t counted on was the 商务流程 (business process) of this restaurant being 搞混 (mixed-up). First, someone 上门 (came to my door)…