如何製成物品
(如何)(製成)(物品)
(ㄖㄨˊ ㄏㄜˊ)(ㄓˋ ㄔㄥˊ)(ㄨˋ ㄆㄧㄣˇ)
(rú hé)(zhì chéng)(wù pǐn)
(how to, in what way)(to turn out [a product])(thing, object + product, good)
How to make things (or How things are made)
When we were discussing all the things it is impossible for me to do in Chinese, my tutor decided it was time to introduce me to the specific vocabulary used when making certain things. She says that while people would probably understand me if I used 做 ㄗㄨㄛˋ (zuò) for everything, it would not sound right to them. In Chinese, the words that can be generally translated as “to make” vary according to the way something is made.
The word 做 ㄗㄨㄛˋ (zuò) is used if the hands are directly engaged in the process of making something from scratch, sans motorized machinery.
今天我做麵包。
(今天)(我)(做)(麵包)
(ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄣ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄗㄨㄛˋ)(ㄇㄧㄢˋ ㄅㄠ)
(jīn tiān)(wǒ)(zuò)(miàn bāo)
(today)(I)(to make)(wheat flour bundle)
Today I made bread.
While it is true that nowadays bread is often made in factories, it is traditionally made by hand. If factory-made bread is specifically being spoken of, one of the “to make” verbs below might be used. However, I do make most of our bread at home, so I would use that sentence.
她做很多陶盅。
(她)(做)(很)(多)(陶盅)
(ㄊㄚ)(ㄗㄨㄛˋ)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄉㄨㄛ)(ㄊㄠˊ ㄓㄨㄥ)
(tā)(zuò)(hěn)(duō)(táo zhōng)
(she)(to make)(very)(many)(pottery/ceramic bowl)
She made very many ceramic bowls.
You can see here that there is no time specified. We are not told when she did this.
If something is assembled from parts somehow prepared to be attached, one of these words is used:
拼裝
ㄆㄧㄣ ㄓㄨㄤ
pīn zhuāng
to assemble
組裝
ㄗㄨˇ ㄓㄨㄤ
zǔ zhuāng
to assemble and install
組合
ㄗㄨˇ ㄏㄜˊ
zǔ hé
to assemble
The 「拼」used is the same 拼 ㄆㄧㄣ (pīn) that is used in the character combination 拼音 ㄆㄧㄣ ㄧㄣ (pīn1 yīn), which most Chinese learners are familiar with as being the Roman alphabet of the English language used to approximate the sounds of the Chinese language. The literal breakdown of its translation is
拼音
(ㄆㄧㄣ)(ㄧㄣ)
(pīn)(yīn)
(to join or piece together, to spell) (sound)
他的爸爸幫他拼裝機器人。
[(他)(的)](爸爸)(幫)(他)(拼裝)(機器人)
[(ㄊㄚ)(ㄉㄜ˙)](ㄅㄚˋ ㄅㄚ˙)(ㄅㄤ)(ㄊㄚ)(ㄆㄧㄣ ㄓㄨㄤ)(ㄐㄧ ㄑㄧˋ ㄖㄣˊ)
[(tā)(de.)](bà ba.)(bāng)(tā)(pīn zhuāng)(jī qī rén)
[(he)+(possessive)=his] (father)(to help)(him)(to assemble, to put together)(machine + instrument + person)
His father helped him build a robot.
我不知道如何組合車子。
(我)(不)(知道)(如何)(組合)(車子)
(ㄨˇ)(ㄅㄨˋ)(ㄓ ㄉㄠˋ)(ㄖㄨˊ ㄏㄜˊ)(ㄗㄨˇ ㄏㄜˊ)(ㄔㄜ ㄗ˙)
(wǒ)(bù)(zhī dào)(rú hé)(zǔ hé)(chē zi.)
(I)(not)(to know)(how to)(to assemble) (automobile)
I do not know how to make a car.
他門一起組裝拼圖玩具。
(他門)(一起)(組裝)(拼圖玩具)❶
(ㄊㄚ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄧ ㄑˇ)(ㄗㄨˇ ㄓㄨㄤ)(ㄆㄧㄣ ㄊㄨˊ ㄨㄢˊ ㄐㄩˋ)
(tā men.)(yī qǐ)(zǔ zhuāng)(pīn1 tú wán jù)
(they)(together)(to assemble)(jigsaw puzzle)
Together, they finished a jigsaw puzzle.
For things that are typically made with machines, the proper word is 製造 ㄓˋ ㄗㄠˋ (zhì zào)。This is similar to the English word “manufacture.”
他喜歡製造電腦，因此他也賺了很多錢！
(他)(喜歡)(製造)(電腦)，
(ㄊㄚ)(ㄒㄧˇ ㄏㄨㄢ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄠˋ)(ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄋㄠˇ)
(tā)(xǐ huān)(zhì zào)(diàn nǎo)
(he)(to like)(to manufacture, to make)(computer)
……….(因此)(他)(也)(賺)(了)(很)(多)(錢)
……….(ㄧㄣ ㄘˇ)(ㄊㄚ)(ㄧㄝˇ)(ㄓㄨㄢˋ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄉㄨㄛ)(ㄑㄧㄢˊ)
……….(yīn1 cǐ)(tā)(yě)(zhuàn)(le.)(hěn)(duō)(qián)
……….(as a result)(he)(also)(to earn)(emphasize completion)(very)(much)(money)
He likes to make computers, consequently he also earns a lot of money.
製 ㄓˋ (zhì) is combined with the character 縫 ㄈㄥˊ (féng), for “to sew,” in the next sentence for the same basic meaning, since machines have been a part of the sewing process for quite a while now, even at home.
她縫製了這件漂亮的洋裝。
(她)(縫製)(了)(這)(件)(漂亮)(的)(洋裝)❷
(ㄊㄚ)( ㄈㄥˊ ㄓˋ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄓㄜˋ)(ㄐㄧㄢˋ)(ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄧㄤˊ ㄓㄨㄤ)
(tā)(féng zhì)(zhè)(jiàn)(piào liàng)(de.)(yáng2 zhuāng)
(she)(to make by sewing)(this)(MW for clothing)❸ (pretty, good looking)(adjective marker)(western-style dress)
She sewed this pretty dress.
This is similar to the use of 製成 ㄓˋ ㄔㄥˊ (zhì chéng) the title and pinnable photo above. 製 ㄓˋ (zhì) implies a comprehensive meaning that includes all things that are made or produced, whether by hand or machine. 成 ㄔㄥˊ (chéng) emphasizes that this has been finished.
If you want to read the Chinese on packages in the store, you might see something like one of these lines of these characters:
台灣製造
(台灣)❹(製造)
(ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄠˋ)
(tái wān)(zhì zào)
(Taiwan)(to manufacture, to make)
Made in Taiwan
美國製造
(美國)(製造)
(ㄇㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˊ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄠˋ)
(měi guó)(zhì zào)
(America)(to manufacture, to make)
Made in America
日本製造
(日本)(製造)
(ㄖˋ ㄅㄣˇ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄠˋ)
(rì běn)(zhì zào)
(Japan)(to manufacture, to make)
Made in Japan
If what is made is of a more abstract nature, such as producing a movie or designing a pattern, the correct word is 製作 ㄓˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ (zhì zuò).
她製作孫子在海灘玩的電影。
(她)(製作)[(孫子)(在)(海灘)(玩)]❺(的)(電影)
(ㄊㄚ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ) [(ㄙㄨㄣ ㄗ˙)(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄏㄞˇ ㄊㄢ)(ㄨㄢˊ)] (ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄧㄥˇ)
(tā)(zhì zuò) [(sūn zi.)(zài)(hǎi tān)(wán)] (de.)(diàn yǐng)
(she)(to make) [(grandchild)(at)(beach)(to play)] (adjective marker)(movie)
She made a movie of her grandchildren playing at the beach.
他製作那首意味深長的歌。
(他)(製作)(那)(首)(意味深長)(的)(歌)
(ㄊㄚ)(ㄓˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ)(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄕㄡˇ)(ㄧˋ ㄨㄟˋ ㄕㄣ ㄔㄤˊ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄍㄜ)
(tā)(zhì zuò)(nà)(shǒu)(yì wèi shēn cháng)(de.)(gē)
(he)(to make, to produce)(that)(MW for song)(expressive, meaningful)(adjective marker)(song)
He wrote that expressive song.
When something is composed in writing, like an essay or short story, the word is 作文 ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄨㄣˊ (zuò wén).
她作文關於史詩性的故事。
(她)(作文)(關於)(史詩性)❻(的)(故事)❼
(ㄊㄚ)(ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄨㄣˊ)(ㄍㄨㄢ ㄩˊ)(ㄕˇ ㄕ ㄒㄧㄥˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄍㄨˋ ㄕˋ)
(tā)(zuò wén)(guān yú)(shǐ shī xìng)(de.)(gù shì)
(she)(to make, to produce)(about, with regard to)(epic)(adjective marker) (story)
She wrote an epic story.
If creativity is of the degree that something is completely original, such as a person creating their own, unique language, then 創造 ㄔㄨㄤˋ ㄗㄠˋ (chuàng zào) can be used.
有時候雙胞胎創造他們自己的語言。
(有時候)(雙胞胎)(創造)(他們)(自己)(的)(語言)
(ㄧㄡˇ ㄕˊ ㄏㄡˋ)(ㄕㄨㄤ ㄅㄠ ㄊㄞ)(ㄔㄨㄤˋ ㄗㄠˋ)(ㄊㄚ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄗˋ ㄐㄧˇ)(ㄉㄜ˙) (ㄩˇ ㄧㄢˊ)
(yǒu3 shí hòu)(shuāng bāo tāi)(chuàng zào)(tā men.)(zì jǐ)(de.)(yǔ yán)
(sometimes)(twins)(create, initiate, bring about, produce)(their)(own)(adjective marker) (language)
Sometimes twins create their own language.
And finally, there is a fun way to say “it was put together from bits and pieces from here and there.”
拼拼湊湊
ㄆㄧㄣ ㄆㄧㄣ ㄘㄡˋ ㄘㄡˋ
pīn pīn còu còu
to join or piece together + to gather, pool, or collect
我的老公常常拼拼湊湊做東西給我。
(我的)(老公)(常常)(拼拼湊湊)(做)(東西)(給)(我)
(ㄨㄛˇ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄌㄠˇ ㄍㄨㄥ)(ㄔㄤˊ ㄔㄤˊ (ㄆㄧㄣ ㄆㄧㄣ ㄘㄡˋ ㄘㄡˋ)(ㄗㄨㄛˋ)(ㄉㄨㄥ ㄒㄧ)(ㄍㄟˇ)(ㄨㄛˇ)
(wǒ de.)(lǎo gōng)(cháng cháng)(pīn pīn còu còu)(dōng xī)(gěi)(wǒ)
(my)(husband)(often)(puts pieces together to make)(things)(to give)(me)
My husband often makes me things out of bits and pieces.
Notes:
❶ The literal translation of this word 拼圖玩具 is
拼 ㄆㄧㄣ (pīn), meaning “piece together”
圖 ㄊㄨˊ (tú), “a picture or drawing”
玩具 ㄨㄢˊ ㄐㄩˋ (wán jù) literally a “to play implement,” but better translated as “toy.”
So, we have a toy from a picture that is pieced together, or “a jigsaw puzzle.”
❷ What we call “a dress” for women was not part of the Chinese mode of attire until exposed to Western culture. Hence, that specific type of dress is called a 洋裝 ㄧㄤˊ ㄓㄨㄤ (western dress)
❸ For the sake of review, “MW” is a common abbreviation for “measure word.” In Chinese, measure words are used for specific nouns. In this case, it is like speaking of an “article” of clothing. It is comparable to the more old fashioned English way of saying things like “a length of string” or the more modern “a pair of shoes.” Such word usage is more prevalent in Chinese grammar.
❹ Names of countries can be some of the hardest or easiest vocabulary to remember. They are almost always an attempt at translating the sounds of what the people of a given country call it, but since not all language have all sounds, the end result can be very creative.
❺ In Chinese, all the adjectives or modifiers of the noun are listed, then connected to the noun being described by the character 的 ㄉㄜ˙ (de.).
❻ Once again, understanding the literal translation can be helpful is what might otherwise seem to be a complex word. In order, the characters in this row mean
史 ㄕˇ (shǐ) history
詩 ㄕ (shī) poem
性 ㄒㄧㄥˋ (xìng) quality
To the Chinese, that is what defines “epic.”
❼ I think this word is fun, because it literally mean “former or old affair.”
故 ㄍㄨˋ (gù) former, old
事 ㄕˋ (shì) affair, matter
