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Mandarin - Blog Posts
青春有你2 (Youth With You) Vocab
Has anyone else been watching 青春有你? I’ve been watching it for both entertainment and listening practice. I think it’s already helped improve my listening a lot!
Here are some common words on the show that I’ve compiled:
舞台 wǔtái - stage (based on my observations, they seems to use this to refer to the physical stage but also in a more abstract way to talk about a performance) 位置 wèizhi - position, place, seat (I’ve seen this used for a physical spot but also more abstractly when talking about rankings) 训练生 xùnliànshēng - trainee (I have also seen 练习生 used) 舞蹈 wǔdǎo - dance, dancing 导师 dǎoshī - tutor, teacher (this is what they call the mentors, aka Ella, Lisa, and Jony J)
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~From the article~
Nísù (泥塑): an online subculture of female fans fantasizing about male celebrities being female, often in the role of a lover, a sister, a daughter, or even a stepmom.
Literal translation is "clay sculpture." 泥 Ní is clay (n.) and 塑 sù is to mould (v.).
Sū (苏): originally a Chinese shorthand for “Mary Sue” (玛丽苏), a fan-fic trope of idealized self-depiction.
Nísù, then, is a homophone of 逆苏 (“reverse-su”) and it is the gender of the celebrities/fictional characters that is reversed here.
~Extra~
Xiǎo xiān ròu (小鲜肉): teen male idol
Nì (逆): inverse (adj.)
~Fav quote~
“If in nisu, you are slut-shamed, impregnated, humiliated, pursued, hurt in the name of love, it is not because I hate you—it is because I hate myself. I give you all the suffering and passion my gender has endured. I live and die with you. And in the ashes of our shared fate, there is just me, you, and our humanity.” - 白媚娘bfk
NSFW SRMTHFG HEADCANONS
I’m doing this because there’s little to none of these. So…Here you go! ********* CHIRO: -(Headcanon of mine:Chiro is The Alchemist’s son, so Chiro is technically Skeleton King’s son…don’t kill me)Because of his father’s traits, he’s dominant as hell.He likes to lightly tease his s/o. -Bites. Alot. But gently. -Good at giving head (I fucking laughed when I typed this XD)
OTTO: -Can’t keep a straight face, so he giggles. It’s cute though. -Gentle with his s/o -Foodplay
ANTAURI: -Loves to lick his s/o -Gentle at first, but after a few sexy times, he gets rough. -Daddy kink (I feel bad typing this…..but at the same time not)
SPRX: -Slightly rough, but not enough to hurt his s/o -Expert with his tounge ( *wink* ) -GREAT kisser
GIBSON: -Total opposite when having sex -Lots of foreplay -Cum denial if he’s in a bad mood…for a good 5 minutes
NOVA: -Frilly Underwear -Will sometimes roleplay -Will not hesitate to dominate her s/o
MANDARIN: -Medium BDSM won’t hurt his s/o -Scratch marks. EVERYWHERE. -Surprisingly gentle
75 MORE essential single-character verbs (单字动词)
People seemed to really enjoy my recent post 75 essential single-character verbs (单字动词)...so here's 75 MORE VERBS.
It was really difficult to put together the first list. I had a spreadsheet of literally hundreds of characters that I had to whittle down. So I was happy to give some of the eliminated characters a second chance.
Definitions are from MDBG. For some characters with additional meanings, I have bolded the meanings I want to highlight.
(76) 欠 qiàn - to owe / to lack / (literary) to be deficient in / (bound form) yawn / to raise slightly (a part of one's body)
(77) 顿 dùn - to stop / to pause / to arrange / to lay out / to kowtow / to stamp (one's foot) / at once / classifier for meals, beatings, scoldings etc: time, bout, spell, meal
(78) 逗 dòu - to tease (playfully) / to entice / (coll.) to joke / (coll.) funny / amusing / to stay / to sojourn / brief pause at the end of a phrase (variant of 讀｜读)
(79) 沉 chén - to submerge / to immerse / to sink / to keep down / to lower / to drop / deep / profound / heavy
(80) 挡 dǎng - to resist / to obstruct / to hinder / to keep off / to block (a blow) / to get in the way of / cover / gear (e.g. in a car's transmission)
(81) 晒 shài - (of the sun) to shine on / to bask in (the sunshine) / to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun / (fig.) to expose and share (one's experiences and thoughts) on the Web (loanword from "share") / (coll.) to give the cold shoulder to
(82) 聚 jù - to congregate / to assemble / to mass / to gather together / to amass / to polymerize
(83) 派 pài - clique / school / group / faction / to dispatch / to send / to assign / to appoint / pi (Greek letter Ππ) / the circular ratio pi = 3.1415926 / (loanword) pie
(84) 叠 dié - to fold / to fold over in layers / to furl / to layer / to pile up / to repeat / to duplicate
(85) 缠 chán - to wind around / to wrap round / to coil / tangle / to involve / to bother / to annoy
(86) 嫁 jià - (of a woman) to marry / to marry off a daughter / to shift (blame etc)
(87) 逼 bī - to force (sb to do sth) / to compel / to press for / to extort / to press on towards / to press up to / to close in on / euphemistic variant of 屄
(88) 喊 hǎn - to yell / to shout / to call out for (a person)
(89) 躲 duǒ - to hide / to dodge / to avoid
(90) 抓 zhuā - to grab / to catch / to arrest / to snatch / to scratch
(91) 藏 cáng - to conceal / to hide away / to harbor / to store / to collect
(92) 瞒 mán - to conceal from / to keep (sb) in the dark
(93) 挑 tiāo - to carry on a shoulder pole / to choose / to pick / to nitpick
(94) 扑 pū - to throw oneself at / to pounce on / to devote one's energies / to flap / to flutter / to dab / to pat / to bend over
(95) 踏 tà - to tread / to stamp / to step on / to press a pedal / to investigate on the spot
(96) 断 duàn - to break / to snap / to cut off / to give up or abstain from sth / to judge / (usu. used in the negative) absolutely / definitely / decidedly
(97) 捡 jiǎn - to pick up / to collect / to gather
(98) 拖 tuō - to drag / to tow / to trail / to hang down / to mop (the floor) / to delay / to drag on
(99) 肯 kěn - to agree / to consent / to be willing to
(100) 挖 wā - to dig / to excavate / to scoop out
(101) 摔 shuāi - to throw down / to fall / to drop and break
(102) 伸 shēn - to stretch / to extend
(103) 摸 mō - to feel with the hand / to touch / to stroke / to grope / to steal / to abstract
(104) 绕 rào - to wind / to coil (thread) / to rotate around / to spiral / to move around / to go round (an obstacle) / to by-pass / to make a detour / to confuse / to perplex
(105) 飘 piāo - to float
(106) 碰 pèng - to touch / to meet with / to bump
(107) 染 rǎn - to dye / to catch (a disease) / to acquire (bad habits etc) / to contaminate / to add color washes to a painting
(108) 搁 gē - to place / to put aside / to shelve
(109) 铺 pū - to spread / to display / to set up / (old) holder for door-knocker
(110) 托 tuō - to trust / to entrust / to be entrusted with / to act as trustee
(111) 捧 pěng - to clasp / to cup the hands / to hold up with both hands / to offer (esp. in cupped hands) / to praise / to flatter
(112) 剥 bō | bāo - to peel / to skin / to shell / to shuck
(113) 挠 náo - to scratch / to thwart / to yield
(114) 填 tián - to fill or stuff / (of a form etc) to fill in
(115) 瞅 chǒu - (dialect) to look at
(116) 蹲 dūn - to crouch / to squat / to stay (somewhere)
(117) 溜 liū - to slip away / to escape in stealth / to skate
(118) 坠 zhuì - to fall / to drop / to weigh down
(119) 撩 liáo - to tease / to provoke / to stir up (emotions)
(120) 牵 qiān - to lead along / to pull (an animal on a tether) / (bound form) to involve / to draw in
(121) 装 zhuāng - adornment / to adorn / dress / clothing / costume (of an actor in a play) / to play a role / to pretend / to install / to fix / to wrap (sth in a bag) / to load / to pack
(122) 望 wàng - full moon / to hope / to expect / to visit / to gaze (into the distance) / to look towards / towards
(123) 编 biān - to weave / to plait / to organize / to group / to arrange / to edit / to compile / to write / to compose / to fabricate / to make up
(124) 冻 dòng - to freeze / to feel very cold / aspic or jelly
(125) 抛 pāo - to throw / to toss / to fling / to cast / to abandon
(126) 喷 pēn - to puff / to spout / to spray / to spurt
(127) 刻 kè - quarter (hour) / moment / to carve / to engrave / to cut / oppressive / classifier for short time intervals
(128) 逃 táo - to escape / to run away / to flee
(129) 偷 tōu - to steal / to pilfer / to snatch / thief / stealthily
(130) 吐 tù - to vomit / to throw up
(131) 摁 èn - to press (with one's finger or hand)
(132) 瞪 dèng - to open (one's eyes) wide / to stare at / to glare at
(133) 递 dì - to hand over / to pass on / to deliver / (bound form) progressively / in the proper order
(134) 扭 niǔ - to turn / to twist / to wring / to sprain / to swing one's hips
(135) 轮 lún - wheel / disk / ring / steamship / to take turns / to rotate / classifier for big round objects: disk, or recurring events: round, turn
(136) 混 hùn - to mix / to mingle / muddled / to drift along / to muddle along / to pass for / to get along with sb / thoughtless / reckless
(137) 揪 jiū - to seize / to clutch / to grab firmly and pull
(138) 卷 juǎn - to roll up / roll / classifier for small rolled things (wad of paper money, movie reel etc)
(139) 瞧 qiáo - to look at / to see / to see (a doctor) / to visit
(140) 刺 cì - thorn / sting / thrust / to prick / to pierce / to stab / to assassinate / to murder
(141) 搜 sōu - to search
(142) 遮 zhē - to cover up (a shortcoming) / to screen off / to hide / to conceal
(143) 争 zhēng - to strive for / to vie for / to argue or debate / deficient or lacking (dialect) / how or what (literary)
(144) 撤 chè - to remove / to take away
(145) 闪 shǎn - to dodge / to duck out of the way / to beat it / shaken (by a fall) / to sprain / to pull a muscle / lightning / spark / a flash / to flash (across one's mind) / to leave behind / (Internet slang) (of a display of affection) "dazzlingly" saccharine
(146) 耍 shuǎ - to play with / to wield / to act (cool etc) / to display (a skill, one's temper etc)
(147) 忍 rěn - to bear / to endure / to tolerate / to restrain oneself
(148) 摇 yáo - to shake / to rock / to row / to crank
(149) 戳 chuō - to jab / to poke / to stab / (coll.) to sprain / to blunt / to f*ck (vulgar) / to stand / to stand (sth) upright / stamp / seal
(150) 晃 huàng - to sway / to shake / to wander about huǎng - to dazzle / to flash past
75 essential single-character verbs (单字动词)
When I started consuming more native Chinese content, I quickly discovered an area in which my knowledge was lacking: single-character verbs. In my experience, it’s very easy to focus on learning words consisting of two or more characters and overlook single-character words.
Driven by curiosity, I went through my Anki deck (and also wracked my brain) to generate a list of characters/words that I have learned over the past couple years (roughly). Then I selected 75 verbs that are fairly common and important to know. They skew towards intermediate and advanced vocabulary.
Definitions are from MDBG. For characters with additional meanings that I am not yet familiar with, I have bolded the meanings I want to share.
(1) 抢 qiǎng - to fight over / to rush / to scramble / to grab / to rob / to snatch
(2) 救 jiù - to save / to assist / to rescue
(3) 扶 fú - to support with the hand / to help sb up / to support oneself by holding onto something / to help
(4) 催 cuī - to urge / to press / to prompt / to rush sb / to hasten sth / to expedite
(5) 夹 jiā - to press from either side / to place in between / to sandwich / to carry sth under armpit / wedged between / between / to intersperse / to mix / to mingle / clip / folder / Taiwan pr. [jia2]
(6) 咬 yǎo - to bite / to nip
(7) 砸 zá - to smash / to pound / to fail / to muck up / to bungle
(8) 毁 huǐ - to destroy / to ruin / to defame / to slander
(9) 嚷 rǎng - to shout / to bellow / to make a big deal of sth / to make a fuss about sth
(10) 塞 sāi - to stop up / to squeeze in / to stuff / cork / stopper
(11) 贪 tān - to have a voracious desire for / to covet / greedy / corrupt
(12) 拆 chāi - to tear open / to tear down / to tear apart / to open
(13) 掏 tāo - to fish out (from pocket) / to scoop
(14) 跪 guì - to kneel
(15) 摘 zhāi - to take / to borrow / to pick (flowers, fruit etc) / to pluck / to select / to remove / to take off (glasses, hat etc)
(16) 拎 līn - to lift up / to carry in one’s hand / Taiwan pr. [ling1]
(17) 扛 káng - to carry on one’s shoulder / (fig.) to take on (a burden, duty etc)
(18) 拽 zhuài - to pull / to tug at (sth)
(19) 愣 lèng - to look distracted / to stare blankly / distracted / blank / (coll.) unexpectedly / rash / rashly
(20) 搂 lǒu - to hug / to embrace / to hold in one’s arms
(21) 垮 kuǎ - to collapse (lit. or fig.)
(22) 撑 chēng - to support / to prop up / to push or move with a pole / to maintain / to open or unfurl / to fill to bursting point / brace / stay / support
(23) 甩 shuǎi - to throw / to fling / to swing / to leave behind / to throw off / to dump (sb)
(24) 围 wéi - to encircle / to surround / all around / to wear by wrapping around (scarf, shawl)
(25) 愁 chóu - to worry about
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What language are you learning?😊
Mandarin Chinese (traditional) and Polish. I used Duolingo as a starting point and am now using Clozemaster and Anki cards for vocabulary.
Spotify vocabulary
歌曲
gēqǔ
song
歌单
gēdān
playlist
队列
duìliè
queue
专辑
zhuānjí
album
艺人
yìrén
artist
随机播放
suíjī bōfàng
Shuffle
循环播放
xúnhuán bōfàng
Loop
转至播放队列
zhuàn zhì bōfàng duìliè
go to playback queue
点赞
diǎnzàn
to like
加入歌单
jiārù gēdān
add to playlist
加入播放队列
jiārù bōfàng duìliè
add to playback queue
查看专辑
chákàn zhuānjí
view album
查看艺人
chákàn yìrén
view artist
分享
fēnxiǎng
share
睡眠定时器
shuìmián dìngshíqì
sleep timer
转至歌曲电台
zhuàn zhì gēqǔ diàntái
go to song radio station
显示制作人
xiǎnshì zhìzuò rén
show producer
part 1, part 2
市场菜 Farmer's Market Foods
So the farmer's market levels are SO MUCH so I thought I would do a separate list of just the foods!
荔枝 / lì zhī / lychee
西红柿，西紅柿 / xī hóng shì / tomato
番茄 / fān qié / tomato
番茄酱，番茄醬 / fān qié jiàng / ketchup*
西红柿炒鸡蛋 / xī hóng shì chǎo jī dàn / tomato & scrabbled eggs
黄瓜， 黃瓜 / huáng guā / cucumber
南瓜 / nán guā / pumpkin
西瓜 / xī guā / watermelon
地瓜 / dì guā / yam, sweet potato
苦瓜 / kǔ guā / bitter melon
冬瓜 / dōng guā / winter melon
葡萄 / pú tao / grape
草莓 / cǎo méi / strawberry
排骨 / pái gǔ / ribs, cutlet (e.g. 猪排骨 pork ribs)
骨头汤 / gǔ tou tāng / bone soup
蘑菇 / mó gu / mushroom
木耳 / mù ěr / fungus
香菇 / xiāng gū / shiitake mushroom (fragrant)
金针菇 / jīn zhēng gū / enoki mushroom (golden needle)
剁 / duò / to chop or mince
炖 / dùn / to stew
Bonus:
傻瓜 / shǎ guā / silly melon, silly goose, idiot
*NOTE: Ketchup can only use 番茄！However 番茄/西红柿 are interchangeable for tomatoes in general
Chinese Time of Day Vocabulary
I’ve been keeping a list of words/characters related to times of day since last year. You probably know basic words like 早上, 上午, 晚上, etc. But there are so many other words and characters you may encounter in your language journey! Note: this list isn’t meant to be complete.
Sunset (I think) by Tian’anmen Square about 3 years ago.
Dawn/early morning
天亮 tiānliàng - dawn / daybreak
日出 rìchū - sunrise
早 zǎo - early / morning / Good morning! / long ago / prematurely 一大早 yīdàzǎo - at dawn / at first light / first thing in the morning 早上 zǎoshang - early morning
旭 xù - dawn / rising sun
昕 xīn - dawn
晓 xiǎo - dawn / daybreak / to know / to let sb know / to make explicit 破晓 pòxiǎo - daybreak / dawn
晗 hán - before daybreak / dawn about to break
晞 xī - dawn / to dry in the sun
晨 chén - morning / dawn / daybreak 凌晨 língchén - very early in the morning / in the wee hours 早晨 zǎochén - early morning 晨曦 chénxī - first rays of morning sun / first glimmer of dawn 清晨 qīngchén - early morning
朝 zhāo - morning 朝阳 zhāoyáng - the morning sun
黎明 límíng - dawn / daybreak
The single characters above can be found in Chinese names. Some are quite common.
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倒序词：Inverted/Palindromic Words
I’m sure you’ve noticed in your Chinese studies that there are some words for which you can switch the order of the characters and get a new word! In Chinese these can be called 倒序词. I’ve put together a list of 20 倒序词 pairs, most of which I’ve stumbled across over the past couple years. It’s so interesting to see the relationships between the words! Most example sentences are via Pleco.
牙刷 yáshuā - toothbrush 一把牙刷 刷牙 shuā//yá - to brush one’s teeth 我每天睡觉前刷牙。
开放 kāifàng - to bloom / to open / to be open (to the public) / to open up (to the outside) / to be open-minded / unrestrained by convention 图书馆从上午9点开放到下午6点。 放开 fàng//kāi - to let go / to release 妈妈放开了女儿的手。
喜欢 xǐhuan - to like / to be fond of 你喜欢不喜欢中国音乐？ 欢喜 huānxǐ - happy / joyous / delighted / to like / to be fond of 她心跳加速，满心欢喜。
著名 zhùmíng - famous / noted / well-known / celebrated 我们的中文老师是一位著名的小说家。 名著 míngzhù - masterpiece, famous book, celebrated work 我最近读的名著有点太多了。
犯罪 fàn//zuì - to commit a crime / crime / offense 听到她的犯罪历史，我大吃一惊。 罪犯 zuìfàn - criminal 警察还没有抓到那些罪犯。
事故 shìgù - accident 事故的原因还在调查之中。 故事 gùshì - old practice || gùshi - narrative / story / tale 这是一个真实的故事。
女儿 nǚ'ér - daughter 他们的三个孩子都是女儿，没有儿子。 儿女 érnǚ - children / sons and daughters 儿女有赡养老人的义务。
蜜蜂 mìfēng - bee / honeybee 一只蜜蜂 蜂蜜 fēngmì - honey 一罐蜂蜜
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Bro Mandarin is such a fun language to learn but I be having trouble trying to think outside of english. Like, theres a disconnect between when I hear a phrase and can mentally parse it cause im still converting the words to my native language instead of understanding it outright without the extra step, if that makes sense at all. I wonder if other people who are new to learning a second language experience this and how they practiced to get over it. Also I should probably start learning hanzì already but I been lazy since I found out Chinese citizens learn pīnyīn, my ass gotta kick the procrastination habit.
hello ! I don't have any inspo lately -.-
hola ! no he tenido inspo últimamente -.-
Makes me kinda want to infiltrate Chinese tumblr to see if I can survive
My Brain: we have an ASL final tmrrw. Thoughts?
Me: and prayers. We’re going to need them.
#Repost @victims_of_miseducation This is intersting fact, but in reality the Orange, Grapefruit, and Tangelo are hybrids of different amounts of 2 fruits. The #Mandarin and #Pomelo. It isn't a 50-50 hybrid of the two, but it is a hybrid of the two. Infact all common cirtrus are hybrids of 4 actual species: Mandarin, Key Lime, Citron, and Pomelo. The #orange is unknown in the wild state; is assumed to have #originated in southern #China, northeastern India, and perhaps southeastern Asia, and that they were first cultivated in China around 2500 BC. In 1493, #Columbus #brought #orange #seeds #from #Spain's Canary Island to Haiti, where he grew orange orchards. An orange is a delectable pulpy fruit that belongs to the genus Citrus, the other famous members of which are #lemon, #lime, and #grapefruit. The scientific name of the sweet orange is Citrus sinensis, while the name of the bitter variety is Citrus aurantium. The #orange is considered a #hybrid, possibly between Citrus maxima (#pomelo) and Citrus reticulata (#mandarin). Many historians are of the opinion that the farmers of China established orange orchards by the beginning of the 1st century millennium, i.e., around 1000 AD. Soon, the nobility grew fond of this delightful fruit. This unleashed a competition among the cultivators to produce larger and tastier oranges, in order to please the nobility. Among Europeans, #Romans were the first to taste this juicy fruit. It reached the Roman empire around the 1st century BC. The credit for introducing this fruit to the Roman empire goes to the Persian traders, who had trade relations with India and Ceylon. So, oranges from southern India reached the Roman empire, and became quite popular among the nobility and the military #TheJourneyToAmerica⬇️ Oranges were introduced to America by Spanish explorers and conquerors. The Spanish explorers arrived in South America in the mid-15th century. They probably #initiated #orange #cultivation #in the #16thCentury in Cananeia, an island off the São Paulo coast in Brazil. In the United States, the first orange tree was believed to be planted by Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer. He planted the first orange tree near
My identity crisis
About once every two years, I go to Taiwan (I'm in Taipei right now) and feel like an outsider, but also, at home. I am Chinese American. Here, I look like everyone else. I'm not a minority. It's only when I open my mouth that the jig is up, because I'm American, and although my mandarin is good back in the states, but here, my mandarin is no better than a kindergartners, and that brings me a lot of shame and frustration. I want to be literate in this beautiful culture. Currently, I understand more Chinese than I can speak. The only mandarin I ever speak is to my parents, and their immediate friends, and they always praise my parents for making me speak mandarin at home. Back at home, in the states, people I don't know see me and sometimes speak to me slower because I'm Chinese, and I haven't spoken yet. They always have a look of surprise when I start speaking English. I feel very much like a minority there, but it's home and I understand. Don't get me started when I get a call from my parents, and I immediately speak in mandarin. They think I'm speaking in tongues or something. But I don't mind. It's a form of pride. I mean, I can speak 2 languages! Most people just know one. I grew up in a small town in Columbus Ohio. We moved there in the early 90s, from New Orleans and my family was one of the only Asian people there. It was hard. I felt so out of place and so alone. I hated all the questions of whether I ate dogs or cats (no), and why my eyes were slanted (I don't know). I was called a chink and my language mocked and made fun of. So much so that I hated being Chinese for a bit. But it's okay now. It gave me a thick skin and an understanding that some people are just ignorant to be ignorant and don't want to learn. It's not my problem. I'm sitting here at a cafe drinking my iced latte in this beautiful city. I have a lot of positivity in my heart right now, but I wish I could express it more eloquently in mandarin, but it's okay, because this is who I am. It took a long time to accept the things I cannot change, but I want to change the perspective. One day, I will write a poetry of love in mandarin, and it will be spectacular. I'm ABC and proud. I am American Born Chinese
