Monthly Archives: December 2010

Ai in Love

Posted on by
Reply

The third tile bears the work 爱  AI  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

pronounced in the fourth tone.  爱 means to love, to like, to be fond of.

爱 人  AI REN  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means sweetheart or lover.  In the old days of Communist China, 爱人 also meant wife, husband or life partner.

爱 吃 AI CHI  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means fond of eating.

爱 美  AI Mei  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means fond of beautifying oneself

我 爱 你  WO AI Ni  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means I love you.

你 爱 她  NI AI TA  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means You love Her.

我 爱 他  WO AI TA  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

   means I love Him.  Note that (her 她) and (him 他) are pronounced exactly the same.  The two words also mean she and he.

She or her 她 has the radical 女 （girl）on the left.  女 denotes someone female.

He or him 他 has the radical 人 (man) on its left.

Many Chinese people, including me, often mistakenly say he for she and him for her when we speak in English.  Since the two pronouns are both pronounced TA in Chinese, our Chinese minds become confused and the wrong TA comes out of our mouths in English.

By adding the character 们 MEN to the pronoun (他 TA = HE), (我 WO = I), or (你 NI = YOU), we get the plural pronoun 他 们 THEY,  我们 WE or 你 们 YOU (plural)

他 们  TA  MEN  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  爱 你 AI NI means THEY love you.

我 们  WO MEN  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  爱你 AI NI  means WE love you.

你 们  NI MEN  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  爱 他 们 AI TA MEN means ALL OF YOU love THEM.

For homework, please type the word 爱 twenty times.  Then translate the following into Chinese.

I love you.      我 爱 你。 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

   Wo  Ai  Ni.

You love me.你 爱我。

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Ni  Ai  WO.

He loves me.  他 爱 我  

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

     Ta  Ai  Wo.

She loves me.  她 爱 我。

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

   Ta  Ai  Wo

We love her.    我  们 爱 她 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

   Wo Men Ai Ta

They (female) love all of you.  她 们 爱 你 们 。 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  Ta Men Ai Ni Men.

All of you love him.  你 们 爱 他。

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  Ni Men Ai Ta.

Now you know all of the pronouns in Chinese.

The Sound of Xiao

Posted on by
1

The second tile bears the word 笑

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

XIAO pronounced in the fourth tone.  The letter X is pronounced as SH in Chinese.  Thus Xiao is pronounced like Shiao.

Please note that 笑 consists of top and bottom halves.  The top half is the symbol 竹  ZHU 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

pronounced in the second tone.  The letters Zh in Chinese is pronounced like the letter J.  Thus Zhu sounds like Jew.

The word竹 zhu means bamboo.  Like the three dots (water radical) on the left half of the character 活 we studied in our previous lesson, 竹 is also a radical.  When you see 竹 at the top of a Chinese character, that word often (but not always) has something to do with bamboo.

Thus the words竽,  竿，笆，笈，笙，筐 all have something to do with bamboo or reeds.

Please try to remember the shape and number of strokes in these radicals wherever possible.  Chinese words are arranged in a dictionary according to the number夏 of strokes under their respective radicals.  To look up the word 活, you search for the three dots’ radical for water.  Under the three dots’ radical section, you count the number of strokes in the right half of the word舌, then look for the word 活。Words are arranged in the ascending order according to the number of strokes used in writing them.  Thus  活 comes after 江 (river) but before 涯 (waterfront) in a Chinese dictionary.

To return to the word 笑 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

XIAO, the bottom half of the word is

天 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

TIAN which means sky or heaven.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 笑 means to laugh, to smile, to grin, to giggle.  When you look at the word, it resembles a happy face with laughing eyes and upturned lips.

笑 话

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  xiao hua  means joke.   笑  means laughing.  话 means conversation.

笑 声

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  xiao sheng means sound of laughter.  声  means sound.

笑 容

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  xiao rong means laughing face.  容 means face or countenance

笑 一 笑

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  xiao yi xiao means `give a smile’.  一 means one.

For your homework,  please type the character 笑 twenty times.

The Many Lives of Huo

Posted on by
3

Danielle brought three square tile-coasters into the office today.  Each has a Chinese character on its face and a groove in the back for hanging on the wall.  Besides being beautiful, they can be functional if used as coasters or wall-hanging.

The first tile bears the word 活

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(pronounced huo in the second tone).  Note that 活 (huo) has three dots on its left half.  You know from your previous lesson that three dots on the left usually indicate that the word has something to do with water.

The right half of the word is 舌 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(pronounced she in the second tone).  舌 means tongue.

So the character 活 (huo) 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

suggests that it has something to do with  water and eating.

Like many Chinese words, 活 has many meanings.  Depending on how it is used in a sentence, 活 can be a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective.

The two words together (生 sheng  活 huo) 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

means life or living.

(活huo 动 dong)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

means activities.  活 means lively.  动 means movements.

(活 huo 力 li) 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

means vitality.  活 means lively,  力 means strength.

(活 huo 人 ren) 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means a living person.  活 means living, 人 means person or man.

(活 huo 埋 mai)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  means to bury alive.  活 means alive, 埋means bury.

(活 huo 水 shui) 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

means running water.  活means moving, 水 means water.

The fact that a single Chinese word can be used in so many different ways and be a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective means that Chinese legal documents are often difficult to interpret.  At the same time, poetry written in Chinese is often sublime and evocative, depending almost entirely on the reader’s own imagination.

For your homework, please type the character huo活 twenty times on your computer.  When you type the letters H U O, a list of Chinese characters appear:

惑  或  霍  火  获  祸  货 豁  伙  钬  活

Look at each character briefly before you choose the character 活.  Don’t be discouraged!  All of these words are pronounced H U O and can be reproduced by typing these three letters.  When I was a child, I had to copy each character over and over again for home work.  How lucky you are that all you have to do is to type the three letters H U O.  Sometime in the future, when you come across the character 火 (which means fire) you might even remember effortlessly that 火 is pronounced H U O.

What is Pin Yin?

Posted on by
2

Pin 拼

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Yin 音

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

As a child, I spent hours copying Chinese characters: a task I hated because it was so boring.  Not only did I have to learn the shape and meaning of a new word, I also needed to remember its stroke sequence in order to reproduce it properly.  After copying a word twenty times with much effort, I often did not know its pronunciation because the sound of Chinese words has nothing to do with their image.

Pin 拼 yin音and computers have changed all this. With 拼音 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

you learn the sound of a Chinese word BEFORE you type (input) that character on the keyboard of your computer.  Parents in China complain that their children no longer know how to write Chinese words because they text their friends on their mobile phones or send emails.  With 拼音, mobile phones and the computer, YOU too can communicate (in Chinese) with Chinese people in a very short time.   Pin yin enables you to recognize and reproduce Chinese characters by their pronunciation without memorizing the strokes of each character.  Which is easier?  Typing pin yin on your computer and picking out the two characters 拼音 or writing the same two character on a sheet of paper from memory?

Since every Chinese word is a picture, writing Chinese is like reproducing images of different pictures.  One has to place every stroke, dot and line in its proper place.  Mistakes are frequent and almost inevitable.  拼音 and the computer have removed the need to write Chinese words with pen and paper.  This makes learning Chinese characters much, much easier.

This is what I aim to do!  Teach you Chinese via pinyin and the computer.  You will learn to write Chinese characters by typing letters of the alphabet.