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 ZédōngMao Zedong
文革wéngécultural revolution
遭到了迫害zāo dàole pòhài(citizens) were persecuted
社会停滞不前shèhuì tíngzhì bù qiánsociety was stagnating
七分功三分过qī fēn gōng sān fēnguòthe 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 zhědictator
腊肉làròubacon
平息píngxíto calm things down
掩盖yǎngàito cover (something up)
残酷cánkùcruel
搞工业化gǎo gōngyèhuàengage in industrialization
农业国nóngyè guóagricultural country
工业国gōngyè guóindustrial country
造原子弹zào yuánzǐdànbuild 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’ēnKim Jong Un
朝鲜CháoxiǎnNorth Korea
他想得到我们的帮助tā xiǎngdédào wǒmen de bāngzhùHe wants our help
领导人lǐngdǎo rénleader
有能力的人yǒu nénglì de réncapable man
负面印象fùmiàn yìnxiàngnegative impression
援助朝鲜yuánzhù cháoxiǎnaid North Korea
叛逃者pàntáo zhědefector
我们不缺少一个这样的朋友wǒmen bù quēshǎo yīgè zhèyàng de péngyǒuwe 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 zhěnative speaker
口音kǒuyīnaccent
脏话zānghuàbad language
学医xué yīstudy medicine
医学yīxuémedicine

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 jiàoyùsex education
生物课shēngwù kèbiology class
性关系xìng guānxìsexual relationship(s)
月经yuèjīngmenstruation / period
生理期shēnglǐ qīmenstruation / period
我有一个很深刻的印象wǒ yǒu yīgè hěn shēnkè de yìnxiàngI have a very deep impression
性器官xìngqìguānsexual organ
耻辱chǐrǔshame / to feel ashamed
羞辱xiūrùhumiliation / to feel humiliated
对女生有好感duì nǚshēng yǒu hǎogǎnto be fond of girls
暗恋男生ànliàn nánshēngto have a crush on a boy
讲黄段子jiǎng huáng duànzito 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 fùmǔto be parents
感悟的变化gǎnwù de biànhuàchange in perception
片面piànmiànone-sided
极端jíduānextreme
不吵不闹bù chǎo bù nàomeaning a baby or toddler that doesn’t make noise or annoy you from time to time
又苦又累yòu kǔ yòu lèibitter and tired
让人恐育ràng rén kǒng yùmake people afraid of raising children
自由时间缩小了zìyóu shíjiān suōxiǎoleFree 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 biànhuàOur way of life will change a lot
经济能力jīngjì nénglìFinancial 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 jīhuìaccidental opportunity
按理说ànlǐ shuōin theory, theoretically
突飞猛进tūfēiměngjìnto advance by leaps and bounds
其他的外语突飞猛进qítā de wàiyǔ tūfēiměngjìnother foreign languages advance by leaps and bounds
俚语lǐyǔslang
沉浸式chénjìn shìimmersive
班课bān kègroup class
日常的交流rìcháng de jiāoliúdaily communication
北京的口音běijīng de kǒuyīnBeijing accent
示范shìfànto demonstrate
收了打击shōule dǎjíto receive a blow (to be shocked by something)
不知道问题存在bù zhīdào wèntí cúnzàididn’t know the problem existed
没有意识到méiyǒu yìshí dàodidn’t realize something
纠正发音jiūzhèng fāyīnto correct his pronunciation
绕口令ràokǒulìngtongue twisters
掩盖掉我说不准yǎngài diào wǒ shuō bu zhǔnto cover up (his) non-standard pronunciation
退步了tuìbùleto regress (instead of making progress)
综合的学习zònghé de xuéxíintegrated (comprehensive, all-round) learning
语音学yǔyīn xuéphonetics
口腔肌肉kǒuqiāng jīròuoral 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 zàijiāquarantine at home
各种消息满天飞gè zhǒng xiāoxī mǎntiānfēiAll kinds of news “are flying around”
采取措施cǎiqǔ cuòshīto take measures
严格控制yángé kòngzhìstrict control
缺货quē huòout of stock
志愿者zhìyuànzhěvolunteers
谣言yáoyánrumor (that there will be a lockdown)
辟谣pìyáorefute 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 rénChinese at heart
用来比喻yòng lái bǐyùused as a metaphor
在一个人的内心里zài yīgè rén de nèixīn lǐin one’s heart
无法改变的东西wúfǎ gǎibiàn de dōngxīsomething that cannot be changed
意思就是说yìsi jiùshì shuōmeans 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 lùxiàncycling route
重复的画面chóngfù de huàmiànrepetitive scenery
我惟一的运动wǒ wéiyī de yùndòngmy only sport
懒得出门lǎndé chūméntoo lazy to go out
宅男zháináncouch potato (male)
宅女zháinǚcouch potato (female)
夜宵摊yèxiāo tānnight snack market stall
吃夜宵chī yèxiāoto 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!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *