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.
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.
常态化
chángtài huà
Normalize
疫情
yìqíng
Epidemic situation
防控
fángkòng
Prevention and control
复课
fùkè
Resume classes
间隔
jiàngé
Interval; intermission
测温
cèwēn
Measure the temperature
境外输入
jìngwài shūrù
Imported cases
新冠肺炎
xīnguān fèiyán
Coronavirus disease
这个病人要隔离一周
zhège bìngrén yào gélí yīzhōu
The patient will be quarantined for a week
设置
shèzhì
set up
检测站
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!
