{"id":2383,"date":"2010-09-14T16:52:50","date_gmt":"2010-09-14T16:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=2383"},"modified":"2010-09-14T17:04:30","modified_gmt":"2010-09-14T17:04:30","slug":"some-more-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/some-more-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Some More Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new semester<\/strong> (\u5b66\u671f – xu\u00e9 q\u00ed) has started for schools here in Beijing, and that means this teacher is very busy<\/strong> (\u5f88\u5fd9 – h\u011bn m\u00e1ng).\u00a0 I’ll be running all over this city, as I’m working at a Korean high school and two Chinese middle schools, in addition to private lessons.\u00a0 This back to school fever has even motivated me to get back into Chinese classes myself.\u00a0 Seeing as how the first week of school is all about review, I’m going to use this post to review my August videos before I get on a roll and post the three for September.<\/p>\n

Video Post #3 – It’s So Stupendous, Riding the Beijing Tube<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For this video, I braved the intensity of rush hour on the subway to give you a close up look at the madness of subway line one at 5 p.m.\u00a0 As I will often do in video posts, I started out by saying, “Hello everyone!<\/strong>” (\u5927\u5bb6\u597d\u2028 – d\u00e0 ji\u0101 h\u01ceo).\u00a0 This is one of those phrases that you just can’t break down character by character to translate – \u5927 means “big”, \u5bb6\u00a0 means “home” or “family,” and \u597d means “good.”\u00a0 This goes to show you that you can’t try to translate every Chinese character into English to get the overall meaning.<\/p>\n

Before heading down to the subway, I warned that “The subway is full of people during rush hour<\/strong>” (\u5730\u94c1\u5728\u9ad8\u5cf0\u65f6\u6bb5\u5f88\u62e5\u6324 – \u2028d\u00ec ti\u011b z\u00e0i g\u0101o f\u0113ng sh\u00ed du\u00e0n h\u011bn y\u014dng j\u01d0).\u00a0 In order to better understand this, let’s break it down:<\/p>\n

\u5730\u94c1 – d\u00ec ti\u011b – subway<\/p>\n

\u5728 – z\u00e0i – at\/in<\/p>\n

\u9ad8\u5cf0\u65f6\u6bb5 – g\u0101o f\u0113ng sh\u00ed du\u00e0n – rush hour\/peak time<\/p>\n

\u5f88 – h\u011bn – very<\/p>\n

\u62e5\u6324 – y\u014dng j\u01d0 – crowded (my dictionary actually says “be packed like sardines”)<\/p>\n

In this example, I could have said many things in English that still would have translated correctly, such as “During rush hour, the subway is very crowded,” or “At peak times, people are packed like sardines on the subway.”\u00a0 No matter where you are in Beijing, \u9ad8\u5cf0\u65f6\u6bb5 is a crazy time.<\/p>\n

Before getting on the subway, I had to go downstairs <\/strong>(\u4e0b\u697c\u2028 – xi\u00e0 l\u00f3u).\u00a0 The character \u4e0b is incredibly useful when studying Chinese, as it can mean “next,” “down,” “under,” and many other words.\u00a0 You will encounter this character, along with its counterpart \u4e0a very, very often, so get used to both of them!\u00a0 The character \u697c means “floor” or “storied building.”\u00a0 It is useful for finding places and giving addresses.\u00a0 When combined, you should be able to see why the translation is “go downstairs.”<\/p>\n

Actually, you can find two other examples of the character \u4e0b in action in this very video!\u00a0 I mentioned the next stop<\/strong> (\u4e0b\u4e00\u7ad9\u2028 – xi\u00e0 y\u00ed zh\u00e0n), and I also had to get off the train<\/strong> (\u4e0b\u8f66\u2028 – xi\u00e0 ch\u0113).\u00a0 Since \u4e0b has so many meanings, you have to view it in the context in which it is being used.\u00a0 In the case of \u4e0b\u4e00\u7ad9, \u4e0b is used to mean “next,” as it is followed by \u4e00\u7ad9, meaning “one station.”\u00a0 All together, the phrase is used to announce what the next subway station is.\u00a0 In the case of \u4e0b\u8f66, \u4e0b means “get off” and \u8f66, which means “vehicle” is used to represent the subway.\u00a0 On the bus, you can also say \u4e0b\u8f66 if you need to squeeze through a crowd to hop off at your stop.<\/p>\n

In this post, I also mentioned the smart card<\/strong> (\u4e00\u5361\u901a\u2028 – y\u00ec k\u01ce t\u014dng) and how it is very convenient <\/strong>(\u975e\u5e38\u65b9\u4fbf\u2028 – f\u0113i ch\u00e1ng f\u0101ng bi\u00e0n).\u00a0 If you are planning on staying in Beijing for a while, I highly recommend you pick one of these cards up.\u00a0 They can be used on the subway, on the bus, in certain taxis, and even in grocery stores all over the city.\u00a0 If this card was just convenient, I would have simply said \u65b9\u4fbf, but it is incredibly convenient, so I said \u975e\u5e38\u65b9\u4fbf.\u00a0 If you want to show how something is “extremely” or “greatly” or “immensely” (inster adjective here), use \u975e\u5e38.<\/p>\n

Before we move on to the next post, let’s look at three more phrases that you should get used to hearing (and saying) in China – trouble<\/strong> (\u9ebb\u70e6\u2028 – m\u00e1 fan), swipe (the\/your\/my) card<\/strong> (\u5237\u5361 \u2028shu\u0101 k\u01ce), and traffic jam<\/strong> (\u5835\u8f66\u2028 – d\u01d4 ch\u0113).\u00a0 Traveling here always entails a bit of \u9ebb\u70e6, and this word is also useful for when you want to bother someone to give you directions or take a picture for you.\u00a0 When riding the bus, you will always hear the attendant yelling at passengers to \u5237\u5361.\u00a0 On some busses, you only swipe the card upon boarding, but on others you also have to swipe when getting off.\u00a0 Finally, you will see \u5835\u8f66 in action just about everywhere you go in China, and you can use this word as an excuse for showing up late!<\/p>\n

Video Post #4 – Temple Hopping in Beijing (\u96cd\u548c\u5bae, \u5b54\u5e99)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For this video, I paid a visit to two of Beijing’s most legendary temples – the Lama Temple<\/strong> (\u96cd\u548c\u5bae – y\u014dng h\u00e9 g\u014dng) and the Confucius Temple<\/strong> (\u5317\u4eac\u5b54\u5e99 – b\u011bi j\u012bng k\u01d2ng mi\u00e0o).\u00a0 Most of this video contained vocabulary pretty specific to these two places, but there are still a few things worth reviewing:<\/p>\n

The Lama Temple is a center of Tibetan Buddhism <\/strong>(\u85cf\u4f20\u4f5b\u6559 – z\u00e0ng chu\u00e1n f\u00fa ji\u00e0o).\u00a0 The Chinese word for Tibet<\/strong> is \u897f\u85cf (x\u012b z\u00e0ng), so putting the character \u85cf in front of something can describe it as being Tibetan.\u00a0 The character \u4f20 can mean “spread,” “pass on,” or “hand down” amongst other things, and \u4f5b\u6559 is the Chinese word for Buddhism.\u00a0 All together, this phrase describes the traditions of Buddhism in Tibet that have been passed along through generations.<\/p>\n

At many temples, you will notice that many people have made offerings to Buddha.\u00a0 These donations could be fruit, \u767d\u9152 (I have a hard time picturing Buddha drinking this stuff), or money.\u00a0 Don’t be surprised to see a bunch of 100 RMB notes in there, as it is believed that if you give Buddha money, your money will grow<\/strong> (\u5982\u679c\u4f60\u7ed9\u4f5b\u94b1\uff0c\u4f60\u7684\u94b1\u5c06\u589e\u957f – r\u00fa gu\u01d2 n\u01d0 g\u011bi f\u00fa qi\u00e1n, n\u01d0 de qi\u00e1n ji\u0101ng z\u0113ng zh\u01ceng).\u00a0 Let’s chop up this example:<\/p>\n

\u5982\u679c – r\u00fa gu\u01d2 – if\/in case<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u7ed9\u4f5b\u94b1 – n\u01d0 g\u011bi f\u00fa qi\u00e1n – you give Buddha money<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u7684\u94b1 – n\u01d0 de qi\u00e1n – your money<\/p>\n

\u5c06 – ji\u0101ng – will\/shall<\/p>\n

\u589e\u957f – z\u0113ng zh\u01ceng – increase\/grow<\/p>\n

As you can see, there is an incentive to offer up the bigger bills as a donation when visiting a temple.<\/p>\n

At our second stop, we learned quite a bit about Confucius<\/strong>, whose given name was \u5b54\u4e18 (k\u01d2ng qi\u016b) but who is known as \u5b54\u5b50 (k\u01d2ng z\u01d0), or Master Kong.\u00a0 As the most renowned and respected scholar in Chinese history, it’s no wonder Master Kong has many temples and schools around the world in his honor.\u00a0 His influence can be seen all over the world, and his words of wisdom never lose their relevance.\u00a0 It should be no surprise that Confucius came in near the top of the list of history’s 100 most influential people<\/strong> (\u5386\u53f2\u4e0a\u6700\u6709\u5f71\u54cd\u7684\u4e00\u767e\u4eba – l\u00ec sh\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng zu\u00ec y\u01d2u y\u01d0ng xi\u01ceng de y\u012b b\u01cei r\u00e9n).<\/p>\n

In this phrase, \u5386\u53f2 means “history.”\u00a0 When combined with \u4e0a, which can mean many things\u00a0 (on\/above\/up\/higher\/etc.)\u00a0 \u5386\u53f2\u4e0a translates to “historical.”\u00a0 It seems like a funny translation, but it makes sense – if something is “on history”, then it is probably historical, right?<\/p>\n

\u6700 – zu\u00ec – most<\/p>\n

\u6709 – y\u01d2u – have<\/p>\n

\u5f71\u54cd – y\u01d0ng xi\u01ceng – influence\/affect<\/p>\n

\u7684 – de – possessive particle<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u767e\u4eba – y\u012b b\u01cei r\u00e9n – 100 people<\/p>\n

Wow, that’s a mouthful.\u00a0 I hope you can see that by breaking this sentence down, it all makes perfect sense!\u00a0 Of course, the Chinese and English don’t translate directly, but sometimes you have to move the pieces of the puzzle around to see the whole.<\/p>\n


\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Video Post #6 – Summer in Beijing is Too Much Fun (\u5317\u4eac\u7684\u590f\u5929\u662f\u592a\u6709\u610f\u601d\u4e86)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Since the summer time here is just so bad-ass, I had to go ahead and make a second video post about it.\u00a0 To kick off the video, I said, “Summer in Beijing is too much fun<\/strong>” (\u5317\u4eac\u7684\u590f\u5929\u662f\u592a\u6709\u610f\u601d\u4e86 – b\u011bi j\u012bng de xi\u00e0 ti\u0101n sh\u00ec t\u00e0i y\u01d2u y\u00ec si le).\u00a0 Most of this sentence should make sense to you, as I used vocabulary that has already been introduced on here and is pretty easy to understand.\u00a0 For example, \u5317\u4eac\u7684 indicates something belonging to Beijing (in this case, \u590f\u5929, or summer).\u00a0 Together, \u5317\u4eac\u7684\u590f\u5929 means “Beijing’s summer,” or “Summer in Beijing.”\u00a0 A very useful grammatical structure is used here – \u592a…\u4e86 in Chinese is how you say “too (adjective)”.\u00a0 In this example, I used \u6709\u610f\u601d, meaning “interesting” or “enjoyable.”<\/p>\n

As you probably noticed in this video, I used the word \u6253 (d\u01ce) quite a bit. A versatile character, \u6253 can be used in many instances.\u00a0 In this post, you may have noticed that it preceeded the name of many sports.\u00a0 That’s because \u6253 can mean “strike,” “hit,” or “play,” along with about 100 other meanings.\u00a0 When talking about sports, \u6253 is used for sports that involve the hands.\u00a0 For this video, it was used to describe playing basketball<\/strong> (\u6253\u7bee\u7403 – d\u01ce l\u00e1n qi\u00fa), playing badminton<\/strong> (\u6253\u7fbd\u6bdb\u7403 – d\u01ce y\u01d4 m\u00e1o qi\u00fa), and playing beach volleyball <\/strong>(\u6253\u6c99\u6ee9\u6392\u7403 – d\u01ce sh\u0101 t\u0101n p\u00e1i qi\u00fa).\u00a0 You also may have noticed that \u6253 was not used when I talked about soccer.\u00a0 Well, that’s because you don’t use your hands to play soccer.\u00a0 After all, the rest of the world does call it “football.”\u00a0 So, in Chinese, you say \u8e22\u8db3\u7403 (t\u012b z\u00fa qi\u00fa).\u00a0 Obviouisly, \u8e22 is the word you use for sports that involve your feet.<\/p>\n

Another repeated phrase in this video was \u6c34\u4e0a (shu\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng), which means “on the water.”\u00a0 If you see a sign for a \u6c34\u4e0a\u516c\u56ed (shu\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng g\u014dng yu\u00e1n), you should be able to put your Chinese knowledge to good use and figure out that “water on park” means you are at a water park.\u00a0 Also, when I went to the beach, I saw lots of people participating in a variety of \u6c34\u4e0a\u8fd0\u52a8 (shu\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng y\u00f9n d\u00f2ng).\u00a0 Of course, this translation of “on the water sport” can be parasailing, jet-skiing, or just about any fun activity in the water you can think of!<\/p>\n

Finally, let’s review one last useful structure that was used in this video: \u8be5..\u4e86 (g\u0101i.. le) means “time to …”.\u00a0 In this case, when I said \u8be5\u8df3\u821e\u4e86(g\u0101i ti\u00e0o w\u01d4 le), it means “time to dance.”\u00a0 As is evident by the excited restaurant workers dancing outside, and the random drum\/dance party we stumbled upon while riding bikes one night, the use of this phrase was pretty appropriate.<\/p>\n

Well, now we’re all caught up through two months of video posts.\u00a0 I hope you find these reviews helpful.\u00a0 Keep an eye on the blog for three more entertaining videos in the second half of the month!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new semester (\u5b66\u671f – xu\u00e9 q\u00ed) has started for schools here in Beijing, and that means this teacher is very busy (\u5f88\u5fd9 – h\u011bn m\u00e1ng).\u00a0 I’ll be running all over this city, as I’m working at a Korean high school and two Chinese middle schools, in addition to private lessons.\u00a0 This back to school…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11385,6,11384,8035,378686,1327,378681,11386,11118],"class_list":["post-2383","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-confucius-temple","tag-grammar","tag-lama-temple","tag-review","tag-sports","tag-summer","tag-vocabulary","tag-water-park","tag-water-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2383","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=2383"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2387,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2383\/revisions\/2387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}