The other day I accidentally told my Chinese tutor that I was perfect. 我說「我完全了！」 (我)(說)「(我)(完全)(了)！」 (ㄨㄛˇ) (ㄕㄨㄛ) [(ㄨㄛˇ) (ㄨㄢˊ ㄑㄨㄢˊ) (ㄌㄜ˙)] (wǒ)(shuō) [(wǒ)(wán quán)(le.)!] (I)(to say, to speak) [(I)(complete, whole, totally, entirely)(intensifies preceding clause)!] I said, “I am perfect!” I was trying to explain that I had finished something. 她覺得好笑！ (她)[(覺)(得)](好笑) (ㄊㄚ) […]
You Want to Do More of Something 你想要多做某件事情 in Chinese
你想要多做某件事情 (你)(想要)(多)(做)(某件)(事情) (ㄋㄧˇ) (ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ) (ㄉㄨㄛ) (ㄗㄨㄛˋ) (ㄇㄡˇ ㄐㄧㄢˋ) (ㄕˋ ㄑㄧㄥˊ) (nǐ)(xiǎng yào)(duō)(zuò)(mǒu jiàn)(shì qíng) (you)(think to want)(more)(to do)(some + MW for affair)(affair, matter, business, thing) You want to do more of something Sometimes we want to do more of something than we are, like practice more or save more. A basic Chinese sentence structure […]
得 is a pò yīn zì 是一個破音字
破音字 ㄆㄛˋ ㄧㄣ ㄗˋ are kind of like Chinese homonyms. In English, homonyms are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently (look different) and have different meanings. Examples: here and hear. Are you here? I can’t hear you! The translation of 破音字 ㄆㄛˋ ㄧㄣ ㄗˋ (pò yīn zì) is humorous to me because […]
Just Want 只要, Just Think 只想, Just Have 只有, and Just Am 只是 in Chinese
Recently, my Chinese tutor decided to help me understand the possibilities and nuances for using the character 只 ㄓˇ (zhǐ) in combination with some other common verbs. Like many things in language learning, the best way to get a better grasp of usage is to hear and try the words in sentences. She gave me […]
Understanding the words he 他, she 她, and it 牠 or 它 in Chinese
Understanding the Chinese pronouns that are translated to he, she, or it requires knowing a couple of things. First of all, the pronouns that mean he, she, or it in Chinese all sound the same, but have different characters. 他 ㄊㄚ (tā) “he” 她 ㄊㄚ (tā) “she” 牠 ㄊㄚ (tā) “it” 它 ㄊㄚ (tā) “it” There are […]
What Color is Your Crayon 你的蠟筆是什麼顏色 in Chinese
你的蠟筆是什麼顏色 (你的)(蠟筆)(是)(什麼)(顏色) (ㄋㄧˇ ㄉㄜ˙) (ㄌㄚˋ ㄅㄧˇ) (ㄕˋ) (ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄜ˙) (ㄧㄢˊ ㄙㄜˋ) (nǐ de.)(là bǐ)(shì)(shén me.)(yán sè) (your)(wax + pen, pencil, or brush = crayon)(to be/is)(what)(color) What color is your crayon? The basic colors in Chinese are fairly straight forward. There is a character for the color which is followed by the character 色 ㄙㄜˋ […]
When You Are Lost 當你迷路的時候 in Chinese
當你迷路的時候 (當)(你)(迷路)[(的)(時候)] (ㄉㄤ) (ㄋㄧˇ) (ㄇㄧˊ ㄌㄨˋ) [(ㄉㄜ˙) (ㄕˊ ㄏㄡˋ)] (dāng)(nǐ)(mí lù)[(de.)(sh́í hòu)] (just at)(you)(to get lost)[(adjective marker)(time, when, moment, juncture)] When you are/get lost 我常常很容易地就迷路了。 (我)(常常)(很)[(容易)(地)](就)❶(迷路)(了) (ㄨㄛˇ) (ㄔㄤˊ ㄔㄤˊ) (ㄏㄣˇ) [(ㄖㄨㄥˊ ㄧˋ) (ㄉㄜ˙)] (ㄐㄧㄡˋ) (ㄇㄧˊ ㄌㄨˋ) (ㄌㄜ˙) (wǒ)(cháng cháng)(hěn)[(róng yì)(de.)](jiù)(mí lù)(le.) (I)(often)(very)[(easy)(-ly)](right away)(to get lost)(emphasize completion) I often get lost very easily. 說真的，我住在台北的時候我迷路了很多次！ […]
What Mood Are You In 你今天的心情怎麼樣 in Chinese
Like it or not, there are stereotypes and bantering between men and women of all cultures. Sometimes it can be quite entertaining, like in some of the sentences that my tutor taught me recently as sort of a twist to Valentine’s Day. First, some vocabulary: 心情 xīn qíng (mood) […]
Understanding the i’s in Pinyin
The use of the letter “i” in pinyin can be confusing. Pinyin is the use of the ABC’s, such as is used in English, to symbolize sounds in the Chinese language. Sometimes the pinyin sounds are fairly similar to the English sounds, and sometimes they are quite different. When saying some words, the single […]
When the Chicken Tries to Talk with the Duck 雞同鴨講 －a Chinese Idiom
當我跟中文老師聊天關於我在墨西哥度假說不同語言的經驗時， (當)(我)(跟)(中文)(老師)(聊天)(關於)… (ㄉㄤ) (ㄨㄛˇ) (ㄍㄣ) (ㄓㄨㄥ ㄨㄣˊ) (ㄌㄠˇ ㄕ) (ㄌㄧㄠˊ ㄊㄧㄢ) (ㄍㄨㄢ ㄩˊ) (dāng)(wǒ)(gēn)(zhōng wén)(lǎo shī)(liáo tiān)(guān yú) (just at)(I)(with)(Chinese language)(teacher)(chat)(about) …..(我)(在)(墨西哥)(度假)(的)(經驗)(時)， ……(ㄨㄛˇ) (ㄗㄧˋ) (ㄇㄛˋ ㄒㄧ ㄍㄜ) (ㄉㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄚˋ) (ㄉㄜ˙) (ㄐㄧㄥ ㄧㄢˋ) (ㄕˋ), ……(wǒ)(zài)(mò xī gē)(dù jià)(de.)(jīng yàn)(shì) ……(my)(at)(Mexico)(vacation)(adjective marker)(experience)(time) When I was chatting with my Chinese teacher about my Mexican vacation, 她馬上就說： […]