{"id":14177,"date":"2018-02-20T11:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14177"},"modified":"2018-02-02T11:50:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T15:50:58","slug":"guess-the-chinese-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/guess-the-chinese-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Guess the Chinese Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

When learning a language, you\u2019re always told to do your best not to try to translate everything into your mother tongue. I tell this to my Chinese students who are studying English, as directly translating everything often results in them speaking horrible Chinglish<\/a>. For example, \u201cYesterday I with my mother together go shopping\u201d or \u201cI very like your shoes! It’s very fashion!\u201d Of course, it\u2019s better to train your brain to think in the language you are learning. However, sometimes it can be fun directly translating words, especially for native English speakers learning Chinese. In this post, I\u2019ll introduce some of my favorite Chinese words and give you the direct translation. Do your best to guess the actual meaning, and then scroll to the bottom to see how you did once you\u2019ve guessed them all. Ready? Here we go\u2026<\/p>\n

Countries<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Tiananmen Square – the heart of China.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Chinese, China is known as the\u00a0Middle Country<\/strong>\u00a0(\u4e2d\u56fd \u2013 zh\u014dng gu\u00f3). See if you can guess what these other countries are, based on the direct translations:<\/p>\n

\u5fb7\u56fd \u2013 d\u00e9 gu\u00f3<\/h1>\n

moral\/virtuous country<\/p>\n

\u7f8e\u56fd \u2013 m\u011bi gu\u00f3<\/h1>\n

beautiful country<\/p>\n

\u6cd5\u56fd \u2013 f\u00e0 gu\u00f3<\/h1>\n

lawful country<\/p>\n

\u82f1\u56fd \u2013 y\u012bng gu\u00f3<\/h1>\n

brave country<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Electronics<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Electronics stores tend to be huge in China.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Chinese, you\u2019ll find lots of word that use the character\u00a0\u7535 (di\u00e0n), which means \u201celectric\u201d or \u201celectricity.\u201d See if you can guess the meanings of these electric words:<\/p>\n

\u7535\u8111 \u2013 di\u00e0n n\u01ceo<\/h1>\n

electric brain<\/p>\n

\u7535\u8bdd \u2013 di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/h1>\n

electric speech<\/p>\n

\u7535\u89c6 \u2013 di\u00e0n sh\u00ec<\/h1>\n

electric viewing<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Machines<\/h1>\n

You\u2019ll also find a lot of words that use the character\u00a0\u673a (j\u012b), meaning \u201cmachine.\u201d Let\u2019s see if you can figure these out:<\/p>\n

\u624b\u673a \u2013 sh\u01d2u j\u012b<\/h1>\n

hand machine<\/p>\n

\u6253\u706b\u673a \u2013 d\u01ce hu\u01d2 j\u012b<\/h1>\n

strike fire machine<\/p>\n

\u8033\u673a \u2013 \u011ar j\u012b<\/h1>\n

ear machine<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Transportation<\/h1>\n
\"Chinese<\/a>

Getting around China is fun!<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, when studying any language, it\u2019s crucial that you learn words related to transportation. In Chinese, you\u2019ll often see the character\u00a0\u8f66 (ch\u0113), meaning \u201cvehicle.\u201d Here are some examples for you to guess:<\/p>\n

\u706b\u8f66 \u2013 hu\u01d2 ch\u0113<\/h1>\n

fire vehicle<\/p>\n

\u81ea\u884c\u8f66 \u2013 z\u00ec x\u00edng ch\u0113<\/h1>\n

self-moving vehicle<\/p>\n

\u76f4\u5347\u673a \u2013 zh\u00ed sh\u0113ng j\u012b<\/h1>\n

straightly rising vehicle<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Animals<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Which one do you think this is?<\/p><\/div>\n

Chinese is full of funny words for animals, at least when you directly translate them to English. See if you can figure them out:<\/p>\n

\u706b\u9e21 \u2013 hu\u01d2 j\u012b<\/h1>\n

fire chicken<\/p>\n

\u888b\u9f20 \u2013 d\u00e0i sh\u01d4<\/h1>\n

bag mouse\/rodent<\/p>\n

\u718a\u732b \u2013 xi\u00f3ng m\u0101o<\/h1>\n

bear cat<\/p>\n

\u9f99\u867e \u2013 l\u00f3ng xi\u0101<\/h1>\n

dragon shrimp<\/p>\n

\u6cb3\u9a6c – h\u00e9 m\u01ce<\/h1>\n

river horse<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Animal Related<\/h1>\n

Every language has some funny words and expressions related to animals, such as: \u201cpig out,\u201d \u201chave a cow,\u201d or \u201cmonkey business\u201d in English. Try to guess these silly Chinese words:<\/p>\n

\u9ec4\u725b \u2013 hu\u00e1ng ni\u00fa<\/h1>\n

yellow cow<\/p>\n

\u9a6c\u4e0a \u2013 m\u01ce sh\u00e0ng<\/h1>\n

on the horse<\/p>\n

\u72d0\u72f8\u7cbe \u2013 h\u00fai l\u00ed j\u012bng<\/h1>\n

fox spirit<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sports<\/h1>\n

A lot of Chinese words for sports are very literal and direct, so these should be pretty easy for you to figure out:<\/p>\n

\u7f51\u7403 \u2013 w\u01ceng qi\u00fa<\/h1>\n

net ball<\/p>\n

\u53f0\u7403 \u2013 t\u00e1i qi\u00fa<\/h1>\n

table ball<\/p>\n

\u8df3\u6c34 \u2013 ti\u00e0o shu\u01d0<\/h1>\n

jump water<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clothing<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Inside one of many clothing markets in China.<\/p><\/div>\n

English is full of funny words for clothing, such as: flip-flops, thongs, tank-tops, and more. What do you think these Chinese words actually mean?<\/p>\n

\u897f\u88c5 \u2013 x\u012b zhu\u0101ng<\/h1>\n

Western costume<\/p>\n

\u725b\u4ed4\u88e4 \u2013 ni\u00fa z\u01cei k\u00f9<\/h1>\n

cowboy pants<\/p>\n

\u51c9\u978b \u2013 li\u00e1ng xi\u00e9<\/h1>\n

cool shoes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you think you did? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Answers<\/h1>\n

\u5fb7\u56fd \u2013 d\u00e9 gu\u00f3<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

\u7f8e\u56fd \u2013 m\u011bi gu\u00f3<\/p>\n

USA<\/p>\n

\u6cd5\u56fd \u2013 f\u00e0 gu\u00f3<\/p>\n

France<\/p>\n

\u82f1\u56fd \u2013 y\u012bng gu\u00f3<\/p>\n

United Kingdom<\/p>\n

\u7535\u8111 \u2013 di\u00e0n n\u01ceo<\/p>\n

computer<\/p>\n

\u7535\u8bdd \u2013 di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/p>\n

telephone<\/p>\n

\u7535\u89c6 \u2013 di\u00e0n sh\u00ec<\/p>\n

TV<\/p>\n

\u624b\u673a \u2013 sh\u01d2u j\u012b<\/p>\n

cell phone<\/p>\n

\u6253\u706b\u673a \u2013 d\u01ce hu\u01d2 j\u012b<\/p>\n

lighter<\/p>\n

\u8033\u673a \u2013 \u011ar j\u012b<\/p>\n

headphones<\/p>\n

\u706b\u8f66 \u2013 hu\u01d2 ch\u0113<\/p>\n

train<\/p>\n

\u81ea\u884c\u8f66 \u2013 z\u00ec x\u00edng ch\u0113<\/p>\n

bicycle<\/p>\n

\u76f4\u5347\u673a \u2013 zh\u00ed sh\u0113ng j\u012b<\/p>\n

helicopter<\/p>\n

\u706b\u9e21 \u2013 hu\u01d2 j\u012b<\/p>\n

turkey<\/p>\n

\u888b\u9f20 \u2013 d\u00e0i sh\u01d4<\/p>\n

kangaroo<\/p>\n

\u718a\u732b \u2013 xi\u00f3ng m\u0101o<\/p>\n

panda<\/p>\n

\u9f99\u867e \u2013 l\u00f3ng xi\u0101<\/p>\n

lobster<\/p>\n

\u6cb3\u9a6c – h\u00e9 m\u01ce<\/p>\n

hippo<\/p>\n

\u9ec4\u725b \u2013 hu\u00e1ng ni\u00fa<\/p>\n

ticket scalper<\/p>\n

\u9a6c\u4e0a \u2013 m\u01ce sh\u00e0ng<\/p>\n

immediately<\/p>\n

\u72d0\u72f8\u7cbe \u2013 h\u00fai l\u00ed j\u012bng<\/p>\n

seductive woman<\/p>\n

\u7f51\u7403 \u2013 w\u01ceng qi\u00fa<\/p>\n

tennis<\/p>\n

\u53f0\u7403 \u2013 t\u00e1i qi\u00fa<\/p>\n

billiards\/pool<\/p>\n

\u8df3\u6c34 \u2013 ti\u00e0o shu\u01d0<\/p>\n

diving<\/p>\n

\u897f\u88c5 \u2013 x\u012b zhu\u0101ng<\/p>\n

suit<\/p>\n

\u725b\u4ed4\u88e4 \u2013 ni\u00fa z\u01cei k\u00f9<\/p>\n

jeans<\/p>\n

\u51c9\u978b \u2013 li\u00e1ng xi\u00e9<\/p>\n

sandals<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now that you\u2019ve learned a lot of funny new words, do your best to use them! Don\u2019t forget, we\u2019e also got plenty of resources here at Transparent Language to help you\u00a0learn Chinese<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Guess

When learning a language, you\u2019re always told to do your best not to try to translate everything into your mother tongue. I tell this to my Chinese students who are studying English, as directly translating everything often results in them speaking horrible Chinglish. For example, \u201cYesterday I with my mother together go shopping\u201d or \u201cI…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":12147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[272723,481698,11132,127559,510760,368843],"class_list":["post-14177","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-beginner-chinese","tag-chinese-guessing-game","tag-chinese-vocabulary","tag-funny-chinese-words","tag-guess-the-chinese-word","tag-making-chinese-words"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14177"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14180,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14177\/revisions\/14180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}