November’s almost gone. Time for some more Chinese content and vocabulary notes!
Chinese hackers (Defense Language Institute)
I discovered a “new” resource by the American Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. The online platform is called Global Language Online Support System and can be used freely. It provides pedagogically high quality audio and video materials for Chinese (and other languages). This is a video lesson, marked level 2+, which was sufficiently demanding for me. I’ll definitely come back for more lessons in the future. This particular lesson talks about Chinese hackers attacking Europe and the US. Side note: The female reporter who’s being interviewed seems to speak correct, high-standard Mandarin, while in fact, if you listen carefully, she’s speeding away, producing lots of verbal errors.
Key vocabulary
- 积累 jīlěi – accumulate; e.g., 知识是逐渐积累起来的。/ Knowledge is accumulated gradually.
- 规范 guīfàn – standard; norm; e.g.,你的发音不规范。/ Your pronunciation is not standard.
- 恶意 èyì – malicious; spiteful; e.g., 他的批评不是恶意的。/ His criticism is not spiteful.
- 破解 pòjiě – crack; e.g., 他花了三天时间，破解了公司账户的密码。/ It took him three days to crack the password of the company account.
- 入侵 rùqīn – invade; e.g., 学校的电脑被骇客入侵，不少学生的分数被恶意篡改了。/ The school’s computer system was hacked, and many students’ scores were maliciously falsified.
- 愈演愈烈 yùyǎnyùliè – intensify; become ever more violent
- 直指 zhízhǐ – direct / aim at; e.g., 好的文学作品就该直指人心。/ Good literary works should be directed at people’s hearts.
- 间谍 jiàndié – spy; secret agent; 网路间谍战: cyber espionage war
- 指责 zhǐzé – censure; criticize; e.g., 他们的行为受到了指责。/ Their behavior has been criticized.
Key sentences
| 我们把研究计算机安全系统的高手称之为骇客或者黑客 | Wǒmen bǎ yánjiū jìsuànjī ānquán xìtǒng de gāoshǒu chēng zhī wèi hài kè huòzhě hēikè | We call experts who study computer security systems hackers or hackers |
| 记者不认为这一波的网路攻击只是针对美国的 | Jìzhě bù rènwéi zhè yī bō de wǎng lù gōngjí zhǐshì zhēnduì měiguó de | The reporter does not think that this wave of cyber attacks is only aimed at the United States |
| 只要有足够的电脑知识，我们中的任何人都可以成为骇客 | Zhǐyào yǒu zúgòu de diànnǎo zhīshì, wǒmen zhōng de rènhé rén dōu kěyǐ chéngwéi hài kè | As long as we have enough computer knowledge, any of us can be a hacker |
| 音频中提到一类叫白帽骇客，他们主要分析和调式计算机的安全系统 | Yīnpín zhōng tí dào yī lèi jiào bái mào hài kè, tāmen zhǔyào fēnxī hé diàoshì jìsuànjī de ānquán xìtǒng | The audio mentioned a category called white hat hackers, they mainly analyze and adjust the security system of the computer |
| 另一类叫黑帽骇客，他们为了自己目的，利用网路入侵他人的系统 | Lìng yī lèi jiào hēi mào hài kè, tāmen wèile zìjǐ mùdì, lìyòng wǎng lù rùqīn tārén de xìtǒng | The other type is called black hat hackers. They use the Internet to invade other people’s systems for their own purposes. |
Programming languages: study Python?
Always wondered which programming language to study first, especially without a background in programming? This video tries to answer that question and argues that Python is not the best pick for beginners, although some viewers totally disagree in the comment section. I derived quite some vocabulary benefit from this short video.
PS The vocabulary app Daily Chinese covers some of these keywords for programming.
| 零基础自学 | Líng jīchǔ zìxué | self-taught programmers with zero foundation |
| 编程 | biānchéng | to program |
| 编程语言 | biānchéng yǔyán | programming language |
| 程序员 | chéngxù yuán | programmer |
| 入门学习 | rùmén xuéxí | beginning to learn a topic or area you have no previous experience with |
| 不适合入门学习 | bù shìhé rùmén xuéxí | not suitable for introductory learning |
| 后端 | hòu duān | backend |
| 语言识别 | yǔyán shìbié | language recognition |
| 图像识别 | túxiàng shìbié | image identification |
| 大数据 | dà shùjù | big data |
| 初级岗位 | chūjí gǎngwèi | junior position |
| 性能 | xìngnéng | performance (IT) |
| 游戏企业 | yóuxì qǐyè | gaming industry |
| 硬性条件 | yìngxìng tiáojiàn | hard conditions when applying for a job |
| 精练性 | jīngliàn xìng | conciseness (describing a programming language) |
Some comments
| 其实学程式都是为了解决问题,只是python容易入门罢了,但python对打基础不适合,标题的重点应放在找工作不应单以python为主语 | Qíshí xué chéngshì dōu shì wèi liǎo jiějué wèntí zhǐshì python róngyì rùmén bàle, dàn python duì dǎ jīchǔ bù shìhé, biāotí de zhòngdiǎn yīng fàng zài zhǎo gōngzuò bù yìng dān yǐ python wéi zhǔyǔ | In fact, learn programming is to solve problems, but python is easy to get started, but python is not suitable for basics. The focus of the title should be on finding a job and not just using python as the main language. |
| python是目前用过的语言最简单,最容易上手,最灵活的语言 | Python shì mùqián yòngguò de yǔyán zuì jiǎndān, zuì róngyì shàngshǒu, zuì línghuó de yǔyán | Python is the simplest, easiest, and most flexible language in use |
| 学python的都不是程序员，都是财务、行政、销售、金融类的岗位。 | Xué python de dōu bùshì chéngxù yuán, dōu shì cáiwù, xíngzhèng, xiāoshòu, jīnróng lèi de gǎngwèi. | Those who learn python are not programmers, they are all positions in finance, administration, sales, and finance. |
Luxury high-speed rail business seat – Afu
Another video by Afu. This time he was lucky enough to be able to take the business class high-speed rail from Shanghai to Beijing. Four hours on the train, 350 km/hour. His personal highlight seems to be (decadently) ordering 外卖 beef noodles as a second meal on board. Can’t really imagine doing that on a train in Europe, certainly not in Germany. Impressive stuff!
| 海底捞级 | hǎidǐlāojí | high class |
| 豪华 | háohuá | luxurious |
| 商务座 | shāngwù zuò | business seat |
| 高铁 | gāotiě | high-speed rail |
| 商务座旅客 | shāngwù zuò lǚkè | business passenger |
| 商务舱 | shāngwù cāng | business class |
| 票价 | piào jià | ticket price |
| 四下的美景 | sì xià de měijǐng | beautiful scenery all around |
吃播! 余多多吃饭啦
I try to challenge myself to watch content I wouldn’t normally “consume”. This foodstreaming video I found quite disturbing. Just take her first words “if you can’t sleep tonight, just watch me eat”. Maybe it’s because I’ve already eaten, but somehow this is really sickening to watch. (Sorry!)
| 無剪輯吃播 | wú jiǎnjí chī bō | uncut food livestream (yeah!) |
| 肥腸 | féicháng | intestines |
| 蝦仁 | xiārén | shrimps |
| 軟軟糯糯 | ruǎn ruǎn nuò nuò | soft and sticky |
| 糯 | nuò | glutinous, sticky |
听见玻璃心碎的声音… 黄明志 Ft.陈芳语【玻璃心】
This song called 玻璃心 (“glass heart”) by the Malaysian-Chinese singer Namewee and Australian-Chinese artist Kimberley Chen premiered in October and has +33.321.021 views on YouTube. It got them banned from Chinese social media overnight.
| 玻璃心碎 | bōlí xīn | “glass heart” or fragile heart |
| 粉红色 | fěnhóng sè | pink |
| 滔滔 | tāotāo | surging |
| 不绝出征反击 | bù jué chūzhēng fǎnjí | endlessly go into battle to fight back |
| 辱了你哪里 | rǔle nǐ nǎlǐ | where did I insult you? |
| 总觉得世界与你为敌 | zǒng juédé shìjiè yǔ nǐ wèi dí | always feel the world is your enemy |
| 逃避 | táobì | to escape |
| 不可分割的关系 | bùkě fēngē de guānxì | inseparable relationship |
There’s more meaning in this satirical song than I can explain. We have bats, 韭菜 (Chinese chives) and a panda. Another hint is that 小粉红 (little pink) refers to the young generation of Chinese internet nationalists. 韭菜 (Chinese chives) could refer to China’s common citizens. 韭菜 is a vegetable that gets cut off from the ground and then grows back. Nice song! Enjoy it and please don’t be insulted.
| 呵护着你易碎玻璃 | hēhùzhe nǐ yì suì bōlí | caring for your fragile glass |
| 玻璃心碎一地 | bōlí xīn suì yī dì | fragile heart shattered |
| 太任性 | tài rènxìng | too capricious, moody |
| 太直白 | tài zhí bái | too straightforward, blunt |
| 粉红色纯洁的心 | fěnhóng sè chúnjié de xīn | pink pure heart |
| 攀岩爬墙壁 | pānyán pá qiángbì | rock climbing wall |
| 不换肩 | bù huàn jiān | don’t switch shoulders (carrying something) |
| 拼了命 | pīnle mìng | risked your life / exert the utmost strength |
Short clip: Taiwanese girl praises Chinese high-tech toilets
Some Taiwanese content: I had to watch this video several times to understand what’s happening. This Taiwanese girl is having the time of her life in Hangzhou. Why? Because the shopping mall has something really special: a toilet paper dispenser equipped with facial recognition. Isn’t that mind-blowing? You need to scan your face to go to the toilet (with paper).
| 震惊 | zhènjīng | shocked |
| 人脸识别 | rénliǎn shìbié | facial recognition |
| 人脸识别供纸器 | rénliǎn shìbié gōngzhǐqì | “facial recognition toilet paper dispenser” |
| 乡巴佬 | xiāngbālǎo | hillbilly (from the comments) |
| 卫生纸 | wèishēngzhǐ | toilet paper |
| 刷脸 | shuā liǎn | scan your face |
For those who have never visited public toilets in China: they rarely have toilet paper, because – don’t tell anyone about this – people steal it! Some people can’t stand the temptation of fresh toilet rolls in public spaces. Best to bring your own or smile to the camera. Does anyone know which company collects the data?
This is the kind of video where I like to read the comments. First one: “In fact, China’s willingness to take in such mental patients for Taiwan is really grateful and heartwarming.”
Someone else added: “I don’t know if the Taiwanese are shocked…Anyway, I’m quite shocked these days to go to the toilet to have facial recognition. How terrible is the toilet paper even if it’s divided into batches for fear that some people will steal a lot of it and go back. Isn’t barrier-free access a standard feature in modern society? I used to go to Hong Kong and found it everywhere.” I couldn’t agree more, but apparently China found a technical solution for a deep-rooted, societal problem.^^
This final comment reflects some of the tensions between China and Taiwan right now: “The director of the Taiwan psychiatric hospital is looking for you everywhere. The director is puzzled. This person is a patient in Taiwan. How can he (she) become a normal person in the mainland?”
That’s about it for this month. If you have any interesting content to recommend for December, please share!
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