Omicron, lockdown in Xi’an, what Taiwanese think of China, German real estate for Chinese buyers and more. January is almost gone, Spring will soon be here!
Desperate voices from the city of Xi’an (07.01.2022)
Remember the lockdown in Xi’an at the start of this month? The city at this point (07.01.2022) had been under lockdown for half a month and people were growing hungry as food distribution was lacking – at least according to this short compilation of voice recordings by VOA. It’s hard to judge the situation from the outside of course.
| 封城半个月了 | Fēng chéng bàn gè yuèle | The city has been under lockdown for half a month. |
| 我说还不如监狱，监狱还让人吃点饭 | Wǒ shuō hái bùrú jiānyù, jiānyù hái ràng rén chī diǎn fàn | I said it’s not as good as a prison, the prison lets people eat at least. |
| 一切都是政府说了算 | Yīqiè dōu shì zhèngfǔ shuōle suàn | It’s all up to the government. |
Beijing – back to school (July 2020)
I set my teeth into another video lesson from the Defense Language Institute database. Serious stuff as usual: a news report from July 2020 about the normalization of school life in Beijing – in other words, kids returning to school. I had my difficulties understanding everything, but the lessons are structured in a way to support you getting familiar with the key vocabulary which is – sorry again – covid-related. If you’ve been following the Chinese news, you probably encountered vocab like 新冠肺炎 and 防控 before. If you don’t want to hear anything about the virus anymore – which I can understand all too well – skip this one.
| chángtài huà | Normalize | |
| yìqíng | Epidemic situation | |
| fángkòng | Prevention and control | |
| fùkè | Resume classes | |
| jiàngé | Interval; intermission | |
| cèwēn | Measure the temperature | |
| jìngwài shūrù | Imported cases |
| xīnguān fèiyán | Coronavirus disease | |
| zhège bìngrén yào gélí yīzhōu | The patient will be quarantined for a week | |
| shèzhì | set up | |
| jiǎncè zhàn | Test station |
What Taiwanese Think of China | Street Interview
This is an extremely delicate topic to cover. Watching the video, I felt that I was given a reasonably balanced, 20-minutes impression of how Taiwanese people feel about the mainland. I only managed to grasp some bits of key vocabulary and I’m also aware that I’m not familiar with the political terminology, their use and history, so this overview is not sufficient to seriously discuss the topic. But I do think Asian Boss gives a powerful insight into the current, fragile status quo or 现状 that is worth watching.
| 民主社会 | mínzhǔ shèhuì | Democratic society |
| 统一 | tǒngyī | Unify |
| 独立的国家 | dúlì de guójiā | Independent country |
| 表明自己的立场 | biǎomíng zìjǐ de lìchǎng | voice your own position |
| 言论自由 | yánlùn zìyóu | freedom of speech |
| 现状 | xiànzhuàng | status quo |
| 中华民国 | zhōnghuá mínguó | Republic of China |
| 厌恶 | yànwù | disgust |
| 威胁 | wēixié | threaten |
| 类似的习俗 | Lèisì de xísú | similar customs |
| 相似的点 | xiāngsì de diǎn | similar points |
| 互相合作 | hùxiàng hézuò | cooperate with each other |
| 时代上的差距 | shídài shàng de chājù | age gap |
| 武力犯台 | wǔlì fàn tái | Invade Taiwan |
Rock Climbing Chinese Girl Talks About Her Life – Intermediate Chinese | Chinese Conversation
If you have watched the Mandarin Corner interviews in the past, you probably came across the “rock climbing girl” called Frieda who introduced us to her unconventional life and the Chinese rock climbing scene. Highly interesting conversation with lots of vocab to capture.
| 攀岩 | pānyán | rock climbing |
| 攀岩天堂 | pānyán tiāntáng | rock climbing heaven |
| 做瑜伽 | zuò yújiā | do yoga |
| 专业的装备 | zhuānyè de zhuāngbèi | professional equipment |
| 攀岩爱好者 | pānyán àihào zhě | rock climbing enthusiasts |
| 线路 | xiànlù | line / route |
| 胡思乱想 | húsīluànxiǎng | “go crazy” (badly translated) |
| 眉飞色舞 | méifēisèwǔ | enraptured |
| 有天赋 | yǒu tiānfù | to have talent / be talented |
| 不同的风格和技巧 | bùtóng de fēnggé hé jìqiǎo | different styles and techniques |
| 了解安全意识 | liǎojiě ānquán yìshí | to learn about security awareness |
| 挑剔 | tiāotì | picky |
| 难度 | nándù | difficulty |
| 无私 | wúsī | selfless |
| 淑女 | shūnǚ | lady / lady-like |
| 坚强和坚持 | jiānqiáng hé jiānchí | strong and persistent |
| 探索 | tànsuǒ | to explore |
| 摸索 | mōsuǒ | to explore ( 摸 implies touching / feeling) |
| 充实自己 | chōngshí zìjǐ | to enrich yourself |
| 技能 | jìnéng | skill |
| 自制力 | zìzhì lì | self-control |
| 开阔视野 | kāikuò shìyě | broaden your horizons |
| 兼职 | jiānzhí | part time job |
| 培训机构 | péixùn jīgòu | training institution |
| 给你铺了一条康庄大道 | gěi nǐ pùle yītiáo kāngzhuāngdàdào | paved a road for you |
| 顺畅 | shùnchàng | smooth |
| 一辈子受益 | yībèizi shòuyì | benefit for a lifetime |
Frankfurt penthouse tour with Chinese real-estate agent
Some more real estate for you: Would you buy this apartment for 830.000 €? Actually, it’s not even in Frankfurt, but in Riedberg, on the outskirts of the German financial capital which is the second most expensive city in Germany to buy property. This 房地产中介 (real-estate agent) shows you around in one of their new build apartments they currently have for sale, introducing all kinds of useful indoors vocabulary.
| 房源 | fángyuán | real estate |
| 地产 | dìchǎn | real estate |
| 户型方正 | hùxíng fāngzhèng | the apartment is square |
| 配备 | pèibèi | to be equipped with |
| 格局 | géjú | pattern |
| 隐藏 | yǐncáng | to hide, hidden |
| 光源 | guāngyuán | Light source |
| 可以满足孩子的全部需求 | kěyǐ mǎnzú háizi de quánbù xūqiú | can meet all needs of children |
| 烹饪空间 | pēngrèn kōngjiān | cooking space |
| 收纳空间 | shōunà kōngjiān | storage space |
| 卧室露台 | wòshì lùtái | bedroom terrace |
| 淋浴间 | línyù jiān | shower room |
| 储物间 | chǔwùjiān | storage room |
| 浴盆 | yùpén | bathtub |
| 家庭智能系统 | jiātíng zhìnéng xìtǒng | smart home System |
| 洗碗机 | xǐwǎnjī | dish washer |
| 朝南 | cháonán | south facing |
That’s it for January, folks. In February, we’ll be back for more and cover the Chinese New Year Gala and the Winter Olympics. 新年快乐，阖家幸福!
