Chinese vocabulary notes (September 2022)

September is gone. In this month’s edition: Chinese public opinion on Mao Zedong & Kim Jong-Un, successful Chinese immersion in Britain, sex education in China, parenting – yes or no, Chinese phonetics master class, lockdown in Chengdu and cycling in Changsha.

What do the Chinese think of Mao Zedong?

A bit of modern Chinese history here: Mao Zedong. What do Chinese people think about the great chairman that founded the PRC? Li Can offers his perspective on the question. I disagree on several points, especially his positive remarks about the “great leap forward” during which millions of people starved to death and which still isn’t discussed openly. His conclusion that Mao laid the foundations for future prosperity suggests that all the pain and suffering somehow weren’t in vain, but eventually led to a brighter future. I guess it’s uncomfortable to admit the opposite, namely that under Mao much of China’s prosperity was destroyed and its economical rise was delayed. Anyway, this is HSK 5 / 6 stuff.

毛泽东	Máo Zédōng	Mao Zedong
文革	wéngé	cultural revolution
遭到了迫害	zāo dàole pòhài	(citizens) were persecuted
社会停滞不前	shèhuì tíngzhì bù qián	society was stagnating
七分功三分过	qī fēn gōng sān fēnguò	the statement by Deng Xiaoping about Mao that his legacy was 70 percent good (七分功), 30 percent bad (三分过)
独裁者	dúcái zhě	dictator
腊肉	làròu	bacon
平息	píngxí	to calm things down

掩盖	yǎngài	to cover (something up)
残酷	cánkù	cruel
搞工业化	gǎo gōngyèhuà	engage in industrialization
农业国	nóngyè guó	agricultural country
工业国	gōngyè guó	industrial country
造原子弹	zào yuánzǐdàn	build the atomic bomb

What The Chinese Think Of Kim Jong Un | ASIAN BOSS

A pre-covid street interview in Shanghai from Asian Boss. The question: what do Chinese people think about Kim Jong-Un? North Korea is an outcast in the international community. If I were to make a list of the worst autocratic governments on this planet, North Korea would probably be number one. As far as I’m concerned it’s hell on earth. But what do Chinese people think about the current leader, what do they know about him? After all, Kim is their neighbor and he’s depending heavily on their help. The interview takes place after Kim’s first official visit to China in 2018.

金正恩	Jīnzhèng’ēn	Kim Jong Un
朝鲜	Cháoxiǎn	North Korea
他想得到我们的帮助	tā xiǎngdédào wǒmen de bāngzhù	He wants our help
领导人	lǐngdǎo rén	leader
有能力的人	yǒu nénglì de rén	capable man
负面印象	fùmiàn yìnxiàng	negative impression
援助朝鲜	yuánzhù cháoxiǎn	aid North Korea
叛逃者	pàntáo zhě	defector
我们不缺少一个这样的朋友	wǒmen bù quēshǎo yīgè zhèyàng de péngyǒu	we don’t lack a friend like that

Chinese Podcast #10: British Guy Wins a Chinese Girl’s Heart with Perfect Chinese

The first time I listen to the “Dashu” (the Chinese word for uncle) podcast. In this episode, they interview the British medical student Will who learned Chinese during lockdown and has reached a near-native level like we saw before (Chinese vocabulary notes # 10). He tells us more about his Chinese language journey and why he decided to study medicine. 55 Minutes of relaxed conversation, with Chinese subtitles.

母语者	Mǔyǔ zhě	native speaker
口音	kǒuyīn	accent
脏话	zānghuà	bad language
学医	xué yī	study medicine
医学	yīxué	medicine

Does China have sex education?

Eileen, Kirk and Da Er, discuss Chinese thinking about sex and sex education. Are sex and sexual development a taboo in Chinese society? And what about all these sex shops in Chinese cities that sell their goods quite openly. Great topic and discussion by Mandarin Corner.

性教育	xìng jiàoyù	sex education
生物课	shēngwù kè	biology class
性关系	xìng guānxì	sexual relationship(s)
月经	yuèjīng	menstruation / period
生理期	shēnglǐ qī	menstruation / period
我有一个很深刻的印象	wǒ yǒu yīgè hěn shēnkè de yìnxiàng	I have a very deep impression
性器官	xìngqìguān	sexual organ

耻辱	chǐrǔ	shame / to feel ashamed
羞辱	xiūrù	humiliation / to feel humiliated
对女生有好感	duì nǚshēng yǒu hǎogǎn	to be fond of girls
暗恋男生	ànliàn nánshēng	to have a crush on a boy
讲黄段子	jiǎng huáng duànzi	to tell dirty jokes

Why a month of parenting has taught me I don’t want kids (at the moment)!

Do you want children? It seems Ella found the answer by taking care of a little boy for one month. I think it’s a good thing to reflect this kind of fundamental questions early on. You can’t plan everything, but at least you can try to make conscious decisions in favor or against something. And it’s even better when you’ve experienced what it’s like to take care of little children firsthand.

要不要做父母	yào bùyào zuò fùmǔ	to be parents
感悟的变化	gǎnwù de biànhuà	change in perception
片面	piànmiàn	one-sided
极端	jíduān	extreme
不吵不闹	bù chǎo bù nào	meaning a baby or toddler that doesn’t make noise or annoy you from time to time
又苦又累	yòu kǔ yòu lèi	bitter and tired
让人恐育	ràng rén kǒng yù	make people afraid of raising children
自由时间缩小了	zìyóu shíjiān suōxiǎole	Free time shrinks
我们的生活方式会发生很大的变化	wǒmen de shēnghuó fāngshì huì fāshēng hěn dà de biànhuà	Our way of life will change a lot
经济能力	jīngjì nénglì	Financial ability

Laoma Chris’s PERFECT Chinese Learning Secrets | How to Pass HSK 5 in 1 Year

Chris Ma reached a state of fluency in merely one year’s time, taking Chinese classes during his gap year in Beijing, but – according to his Chinese teachers – he kept messing up the tones, intonation and pronunciation in general. In this interview, he shares his Chinese learning experience, which methods and strategies allowed him to truly progress and how he elevated his pronunciation to his current level. Highly interesting and completely subtitled.

偶然的机会	Ǒurán de jīhuì	accidental opportunity
按理说	ànlǐ shuō	in theory, theoretically
突飞猛进	tūfēiměngjìn	to advance by leaps and bounds
其他的外语突飞猛进	qítā de wàiyǔ tūfēiměngjìn	other foreign languages advance by leaps and bounds
俚语	lǐyǔ	slang
沉浸式	chénjìn shì	immersive
班课	bān kè	group class
日常的交流	rìcháng de jiāoliú	daily communication

北京的口音	běijīng de kǒuyīn	Beijing accent
示范	shìfàn	to demonstrate
收了打击	shōule dǎjí	to receive a blow (to be shocked by something)
不知道问题存在	bù zhīdào wèntí cúnzài	didn’t know the problem existed
没有意识到	méiyǒu yìshí dào	didn’t realize something
纠正发音	jiūzhèng fāyīn	to correct his pronunciation
绕口令	ràokǒulìng	tongue twisters
掩盖掉我说不准	yǎngài diào wǒ shuō bu zhǔn	to cover up (his) non-standard pronunciation

退步了	tuìbùle	to regress (instead of making progress)
综合的学习	zònghé de xuéxí	integrated (comprehensive, all-round) learning
语音学	yǔyīn xué	phonetics
口腔肌肉	kǒuqiāng jīròu	oral muscles

18 days – lockdown in Chengdu

Peng shares his experience on the 18th day of self-isolating in his apartment in Chengdu. Hope he’s doing better now and this madness soon be over for good.

隔离在家	gélí zàijiā	quarantine at home
各种消息满天飞	gè zhǒng xiāoxī mǎntiānfēi	All kinds of news “are flying around”
采取措施	cǎiqǔ cuòshī	to take measures
严格控制	yángé kòngzhì	strict control
缺货	quē huò	out of stock
志愿者	zhìyuànzhě	volunteers
谣言	yáoyán	rumor (that there will be a lockdown)
辟谣	pìyáo	refute the rumor

Daily Chinese Expression 179「 骨子里 」

Da Peng explains the meaning and use of 骨子里. Really great listening material.

骨子里是中国人	Gǔzilǐ shì zhōngguó rén	Chinese at heart
用来比喻	yòng lái bǐyù	used as a metaphor
在一个人的内心里	zài yīgè rén de nèixīn lǐ	in one’s heart
无法改变的东西	wúfǎ gǎibiàn de dōngxī	something that cannot be changed
意思就是说	yìsi jiùshì shuō	means to say, in other words

Cycling in Changsha

Last but not least, a little cycling tour with Shenglan in Changsha. I used to love biking in Chinese cities, always an adventure and lots of scenery to take in.

骑行的路线	Qí xíng de lùxiàn	cycling route
重复的画面	chóngfù de huàmiàn	repetitive scenery
我惟一的运动	wǒ wéiyī de yùndòng	my only sport
懒得出门	lǎndé chūmén	too lazy to go out
宅男	zháinán	couch potato (male)
宅女	zháinǚ	couch potato (female)
夜宵摊	yèxiāo tān	night snack market stall
吃夜宵	chī yèxiāo	to eat snacks from a night market

That’s it for September. Thanks for dropping by and hope to see you back next month with more Chinese content!