How to get your Chinese tutor to tell you a good story

As I was driving my Chinese tutor out to lunch a few weeks ago, a squirrel ran by. She proceeded to tell me about a Secret Society of the Squirrels meeting she had accidentally witnessed. Okay, I made up the part about the secret society, except we have all been suspicious of such a thing, right?

Regardless, it was an unusual scene that she came upon. She wrote it down so I could share it with you! But, first, some of the vocabulary. This list is a bit longer than usual, as she tells the story in a very naturally Chinese fashion.

開會                  ㄎㄞ ㄏㄨㄟˋ                             (kāi huì)                         to hold a meeting, to attend a meeting

晴朗                 ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄤˇ                            (qíng lǎng)                     sunny and cloudless

初夏                 ㄔㄨ ㄒㄧㄚˋ                              (chū xià)                         early summer

早晨                 ㄗㄠˇ ㄔㄣˊ                                (zǎo chén)                      early morning 

漫步                 ㄇㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ                                (màn bù)                        at a slow pace, strolling

安靜                 ㄢ ㄐㄧㄥˋ                                 (ān jìng)                          quiet, peaceful

佈滿                 ㄅㄨˋ ㄇㄢˇ                               (bù mǎn)                         fully spreading

林蔭                 ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄧㄣˋ                            (lín yìn)                           shade of a grove of trees

鄰近                 ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ                        (lín jìn)                            neighboring, adjacent

住家                 ㄓㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄚ                              (zhù jiā)                          residence, household

步道                 ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄠˋ                                (bù dào)                          walking path, sidewalk

社區                 ㄕㄜˋ ㄑㄩ                                  (shè qū)                          community

合作社            ㄏㄜˊ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄜˋ                   (hé zuò shè)                   cooperative (worker’s or producer’s)

接近                ㄐㄧㄝ ㄐㄧㄣˋ                           (jiē jìn)                           to get close to

街區                ㄐㄧㄝ ㄑㄩ                                 (jiē qū)                           a block (between streets)

角落                ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄌㄨㄛˋ                         (jiǎo luò)                       nook, corner

樹蔭                 ㄕㄨˋ ㄧㄣˋ                                 (shù yìn)                        shade of a tree

濃密                ㄋㄨㄥˊ ㄇㄧˋ                              (nóng mì)                      thick, dense

愕然                ㄜˋ ㄖㄢˊ                                      (è rán)                            stunned, amazed

樹幹                ㄕㄨˋ ㄍㄢˋ                                  (shù gàn)                       tree trunk

旁邊                ㄆㄤˊ ㄅㄧㄢ                               (páng biān)                    beside, next to

站立著            ㄓㄢˋ ㄌㄧˋ ㄓㄜ˙                      (zhàn lì zhe.)                 standing on one’s feet

好像                ㄏㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ                            (hǎo xiàng)                     as if

立刻                ㄌㄧˋ ㄎㄜˋ                                 (lì kè)                               at once, immediate

停下               ㄊㄧㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ                          (tíng xià)                         to come to a stop

腳步               ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄅㄨˋ                             (jiǎo bù)                          foot step, my steps

驚嚇               ㄐㄧㄥ ㄒㄧㄚˋ                           (jīng xià)                         to frighten, to terrify

幾秒鐘           ㄐㄧˇ ㄇㄧㄠˇ ㄓㄨㄥ              (jǐ miǎo zhōng)              few seconds

似乎              ㄙˋ ㄏㄨ                                        (sì hū)                              as if, apparently

注視著          ㄓㄨˋ ㄕˋ ㄓㄜ˙                             (zhù shì zhe.)                to watch attentively

模樣               ㄇㄛˊ ㄧㄤˋ                                   (mó yàng)                      look, appearance

實在               ㄕˊ ㄗㄞˋ                                       (shí zài)                          really, indeed

可愛極了      ㄎㄜˇ ㄞˋ ㄐㄧˊ ㄌㄜ˙                 (kě ài jí le.)                     extremely cute

警覺               ㄐㄧㄥ ㄐㄩㄝˊ                           (jīng jué)                         to be on guard, alert

存在               ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄗㄞˋ                              (cún zài)                          existence

一哄而散      ㄧˋ ㄏㄨㄥ ㄦˊ ㄙㄢˋ                   (yì hōng ér sàn)             to disperse in confusion

四處竄逃     ㄙˋ ㄔㄨˋ ㄘㄨㄢˋ ㄊㄠˊ               (sì chù cuàn táo)           all over the place, to escape like rats

恍神過來      ㄏㄨㄤˇ ㄕㄣˊ ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄌㄞˊ     (huǎng shén guò lái)    recover from being off in another world

只嘆               ㄓˇ ㄊㄢˋ                                      (zhǐ tàn)                          only sigh

那一幕          ㄋㄚˋ ㄧˊ ㄇㄨˋ                             (nà yí mù)                      that scene

拍攝下來      ㄆㄞ ㄕㄜˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄌㄞˊ           (pāi shè xià lái)              capture in a photograph

 

What squirrels do when you aren’t watching

 

在一個晴朗初夏的早晨，

(在)(一)(個)(晴朗)(初夏)(的)(早晨)

(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄧˊ)(ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄤˇ)(ㄔㄨ ㄒㄧㄚˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄗㄠˇ ㄔㄣˊ)

(zài)(yī)(ge.)(qíng lǎng)(chū xià)(de.)(zǎo chén)

(at, on)(one)(MW)(sunny, cloudless)(early summer)(adjective marker)(early morning)

On an sunny early summer’s break of day,

 

我漫步在安靜而佈滿林蔭的鄰近住家旁的步道上，

(我)(漫步)(在)(安靜)(而)(佈滿)(林蔭)(的)

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄇㄢˋㄅㄨˋ)(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄢㄐㄧㄥˋ)(ㄦˊ)(ㄅㄨˋㄇㄢˇ)(ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄧㄣˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)

(wǒ)(màn bù)(zài)(ān jìng)(ér)(bù mǎn)(lín yìn)(de.)

(I)(at a slow pace, strolling)(at, on)(peaceful, quiet)(and, as well)(fully spreading)(shade of a grove of trees)(adjective marker)

…..(鄰近)(住家)(旁)❶(的)(步道)(上)

……(ㄌㄧㄣˊㄐㄧㄣˋ)(ㄓㄨˋㄐㄧㄚ)(ㄆㄤˊ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄅㄨˋㄉㄠˋ)(ㄕㄤˋ)

……(lín jìn)(zhù jiā)(pàng)(de.)(bù dào)(shàng)

……(neighboring)(residence)(beside)(adjective maker)(foot path, sidewalk)(on)

I was strolling on the peaceful and densely shaded sidewalk in the nearby neighborhood,

 

要去社區合作社買東西。

(要)(去)(社區)❷(合作社)❸(買)(東西)

(ㄧㄠˋ)(ㄑㄩˋ)(ㄕㄜˋ ㄑㄩ)(ㄏㄜˊ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄜˋ)(ㄇㄞˇ)(ㄉㄨㄥ ㄒㄧ)

(yào)(qù)(shè qū)(hé zuò shè)(mǎi)(dōng xī)

(to want)(to go)(community)(agricultural or producers cooperative

(I) wanted to go to the community coop to buy some things.

 

走著！走著！

(走)(著)(走)(著)

(ㄗㄡˇ)(ㄓㄜ˙)(ㄗㄡˇ)(ㄓㄜ˙)

(zǒu)(zhe.)(zǒu)(zhe.)

(to walk)(particle indicating action in progress)(to walk)(particle indicating action in progress)

Just walking along, walking along…

 

走到了接近街區角落一棵樹蔭濃密的大樹下，

(走)(到了)(接近)(街區)(角落)

(ㄗㄡˇ)(ㄉㄠˋㄌㄜ˙)(ㄐㄧㄝㄐㄧㄣˋ)(ㄐㄧㄝ ㄑㄩ)(ㄐㄧㄠˇㄌㄨㄛˋ)

(zǒu)(dào le.)(jiē jìn)(jiē qū)(jiǎo luò)

(to walk)(to arrive)(to get close to)(block)(nook, corner)

…..(一)(棵)(樹蔭)(濃密)(的)(大)(樹)(下)

……(ㄧˋ)(ㄎㄜ)(ㄕㄨˋㄧㄣˋ)(ㄋㄨㄥˊㄇㄧˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄉㄚˋ)(ㄕㄨˋ)(ㄒㄧㄚˋ)

……(yì)(kē)(shù yìn)(nóng mì)(de.)(dà)(shù)(xià)

……(one)(MW for trees)(shade of a tree)(thick, dense)(adjective marker)(big)(tree)(under)

(I) arrived close to the dense shade under a big tree near the corner,

 

愕然看見五隻松鼠在那棵大樹下樹幹旁邊站立著圍在一起好像正在開會聊天，

(愕然)(看見)(五)(隻)(松鼠)

(ㄜˋㄖㄢˊ)(ㄎㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ)(ㄨˇ)(ㄓ)(ㄙㄨㄥ ㄕㄨˇ)

(è rán)(kàn jiàn)(wǔ)(zhī)(sōng shǔ)

(stunned, amazed)(to catch sight of)(five)(MW for squirrels)(squirrel)

…..(在)(那)(棵)(大)(樹)(下)(樹幹)(旁邊)(站立)(著)(圍)

……(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄎㄜ)(ㄉㄚˋ)(ㄕㄨˋ)(ㄒㄧㄚˋ)(ㄕㄨˋ ㄍㄢˋ)(ㄆㄤˊ ㄅㄧㄢ)(ㄓㄢˋ ㄌㄧˋ)(ㄓㄜ˙)(ㄨㄟˊ)

……(zài)(nà)(kē)(dà)(shù)(xià)(shù gàn)(páng biān)(zhàn lì)(zhe.)(wéi)

……(at)(that)(MW for tree)(big)(tree)(under)(tree trunk)(next to, beside)(standing on one’s feet)(particle indicating action in progress)(to encircle, to surround)

……….(在)(一起)(好像)(正在)(開會)(聊天)

…………(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄧˋ ㄑㄧˇ)(ㄏㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ)(ㄓㄥˋ ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄎㄞ ㄏㄨㄟˋ)(ㄌㄧㄠˊ ㄊㄧㄢ)

…………(zài)(yì qǐ)(hǎo xiàng)(zhèng zài)(kāi huì)(liáo tiān)

…………(on, at)(together)(as if)(just at that time, right in the middle of)(to hold a meeting)(to chat)

(and) was stunned to see five squirrels gathered around under the tree beside the tree trunk standing on their feet like they were having a meeting and chatting.

 

我立刻停下腳步，不想驚嚇到牠們。

(我)(立刻)(停下)❹(腳步)，

(ㄨˇ)(ㄌㄧˋ ㄎㄜˋ)(ㄊㄧㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ)(ㄐㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄨˋ),

(wǒ)(lì kè)(tíng xià)(jiǎo bù),

(I)(at once, straightaway)(to stop)(footstep)

…..(不)(想)(驚嚇)(到)[(牠)(們)]

……(ㄅㄨˋ)(ㄒㄧㄤˇ)(ㄐㄧㄥ ㄒㄧㄚˋ)(ㄉㄠˋ)[(ㄊㄚ)(ㄇㄣ˙)]

……(bù)(xiǎng)(jīng xià)(dào)[(tā)(men.)]

……(not)(to think, to want)(to frighten, to terrify)(to arrive)[(it {used for animals})(plural marker)]

I stopped walking at once so as not to frighten them,

 

有幾秒鐘的時間牠們似乎沒有注意到我，

(有)(幾)(秒鐘)❺(的)(時間)

(ㄧㄡˇ)(ㄐㄧˇ)(ㄇㄧㄠˇ ㄓㄨㄥ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄕˊ ㄐㄧㄢ)

(yǒu)(jǐ)(miǎo zhōng)(de.)(shí jiān)

(to have)(a few)(second)(adjective marker)(time)

…..(牠們)(似乎)(沒)(有)(注意)(到)(我)

……(ㄊㄚ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄙˋ ㄏㄨ)(ㄇㄟˊ)(ㄧㄡˇ)(ㄓㄨˋ ㄧˋ)(ㄉㄠˋ)(ㄨˇ)

……(tā men.)(sì hū)(méi)(yǒu)(zhù yì)(dào)(wǒ)

……(they)(as if, apparently)(not)(to have)(to pay attention to)(indicated completion or result of action)(me)

For a few seconds of time they apparently didn’t notice me,

 

我注視著牠們的模樣，實在可愛極了！

(我)(注視)❻(著)❼(牠們)(的)(模樣)❽，

(ㄨˇ)(ㄓㄨˋ ㄕˋ)(ㄓㄜ˙)(ㄊㄚ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄇㄛˊ ㄧㄤˋ)

(wǒ)(zhù shì)(zhe.)(tā men.)(de.)(mó yàng)

(I)(to watch attentively)(indicates action in progress)(they)(adjective marker)(look appearance)

…..(實在)(可愛)(極)(了)

……(ㄕˊ ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄎㄜˇ ㄞˋ)(ㄐㄧˊ)(ㄌㄜ˙)

……(shí zài)(kě ài)(jí)(le.)

……(really)(cute)(extremely)(emphasizes preceding clause)

I watched their apparent proceedings intently, they were extremely cute,

 

可惜！牠們很快就驚覺我的存在，

(可惜)！(牠們)(很)(快)(就)(驚覺)(我)(的)(存在)

(ㄎㄜˇ ㄒㄧ)! (ㄊㄚ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄎㄨㄞˋ)(ㄐㄧㄡˋ)(ㄐㄧㄥ ㄐㄩㄝˊ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄗㄞˋ)

(kě xī)! (tā men.)(hěn)(kuài)(jiù)(jīng jué)(wǒ)(de)(cún zài)

(what a pity)! (they)(very)(fast)(right away)(alert)(my)(adjective marker)(existence)

Sadly, they were quick to become alert to my existence,

 

馬上一哄而散，四處竄逃

(馬上)(一哄而散)，(四處竄逃)

(ㄇㄚˇ ㄕㄤˋ)(ㄧˋ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄦˊ ㄙㄢˋ), (ㄙˋ ㄔㄨˋ ㄘㄨㄢˋ ㄊㄠˊ)

(mǎ shàng)(yì hóng ér sàn), (sì chù cuàn táo)

(immediately)(to disperse in confusion), (to scatter like rats)

They immediately dispersed in confusion.

 

我也突然地恍神過來，

(我)(也)(突然)(地)(恍神)(過來)

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄧㄝˇ)(ㄊㄨ ㄖㄢˊ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄏㄨㄤˇ ㄕㄣˊ)(ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄌㄞˊ)

(wǒ)(yě)(tū rán)(de.)(huǎng shén)(guò lái)

(I)(also)(abrupt, sudden)(-ly)(to be off in another world)(to come over)

I also suddenly came back to reality.

 

只嘆太可惜沒能把那一幕拍攝下來！

(只)(嘆)(太)(可惜)(沒)(能)

(ㄓˇ)(ㄊㄢˋ)(ㄊㄞˋ)(ㄎㄜˇ ㄒㄧ)(ㄇㄟˊ)(ㄋㄥˊ)

(zhǐ)(tàn)(tài)(kě xī)(méi)(néng)

(only)(sigh)(too)(what a pity)(not)(able)

…..(把)(那一幕)(拍攝)(下來)

……(ㄅㄚˇ)(ㄋㄚˋ ㄧˊ ㄇㄨˋ)(ㄆㄞ ㄕㄜˋ)(ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄌㄞˊ)

……(bǎ)(nà yí mù)(pāi shè)(xià lái)

……(particle indicating direct object of sentence will follow)(that one scene)(to film, to photograph)(to come down)

I could only sigh that it was too sad that I wasn’t able to capture the scene in a photograph.

 

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Notes:

❶ The full word is 旁邊 ㄆㄤˊ ㄅㄧㄢ (páng biān), but you will find that native speakers often shorten these common words in conversation.

❷ I found it helpful to look at the individual characters in this word. One of the meanings of 社 is group of families or society. 區 is a picture of its meaning, which is area or region. Thus, the group of people in a given area are a community.

❸ Breaking this 3 character word down helps, too. Notice the character 社 meaning group is at the end this time. The first character, 合, means combine or unite. Next, 作 means to work. So to work combined in a group. A coop.

❹ Without the 下 after it, 停 is more of a instruction or command to stop. Putting the two characters together means the stopping has happened.

❺ You have to have fun with Chinese words that sound like the English version of a cat sound! But beyond that, 秒 means second and by adding 鐘 it makes it clear we are talking about a few seconds of time.

❻ 注視 reminds me of the word for television, which is 電視 ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄕˋ (diàn shì). 電 means electric and 視 means to look at. The comparison helps me remember the meaning of 注視.

❼ There are two characters commonly used to indicate action in progress, 著 and 在. Using either of these characters is basically like adding -ing to a verb in English. One difference between the usage of 著 and 在 is that 在 is used before the verb it modifies and 著 is used after the verb so as to connect it to a further description. In this sentence, the further description is about what she is watching.

❽ 模樣 shows up in my dictionary with the pronunciation of ㄇㄨˊ ㄧㄤˋ (mú yàng) even though my tutor has heard it as ㄇㄛˊ ㄧㄤˋ (mó yàng) her whole life. If you consider words like the English either, you realize such variations are a normal part of language and we just need to become familiar with them.