棒歌而词

中文 langblr.

[bngrc]

List of Mandarin Chinese educational resources I'm using/have used (free to use unless accompanied by 💲 symbol):

Apps • Anki (flashcards) • Clozemaster (fill-in-the-blank, teaches profanity, for intermediates) • Duolingo (beginner friendly) • Memrise (video lessons, colloquial language, beginner/tourist friendly) • Pleco (dictionary)

Browser Extensions • Language Reactor* (formerly Language Learning with Netflix) • Pericles** (tts screen reader) • Zhongwen** (pop-up Chinese dictionary)

Reference Websites • zh.wikipedia.org • wiktionary.com • dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-simplified

Self-Assessment Tests • hsklevel.com • hanzishan.com • arealme.com/chinese-vocabulary-size-test/en/

Chinese/Taiwanese TV & Film: • 💲netflix.com • 💲amazon.com/amazonvideo • viki.com • youtube.com • viewasian.co • chinese.littlefox.com

Online Courses • coursera.com

Other • my tech tutorial for running mobile apps on a laptop/desktop • my pīnyīn pronuciation guide (does not cover tones) • my tips for improving pronunciation/enunciation

*for chromium browsers only **for Firefox and chromium browsers

[pompadourpink]

French subjunctive verbal triggers

I. Intent, desire, preference

aimer (que) – to like that

aimer mieux (que) – to prefer that

commander (que) – to order that

défendre (que) – to forbid that

demander (que) – to ask that

désirer (que) – to desire that

empêcher (que) – to prevent (from)

exiger (que) – to demand that

interdire (que) – to forbid that

ordonner (que) – to order that

permettre (que) – to permit that

préférer (que) – to prefer that

proposer (que) – to propose that

recommander (que) – to recommend that

souhaiter (que) – to wish that

suggérer (que) – to suggest that

tenir à (ce que) – to insist that

vouloir (que) – to want that

II. Emotion, feeling

adorer (que) – to love that

avoir honte (que) – to be ashamed that

avoir peur (que) – to be afraid that (+ ne explétif)

craindre (que) – to fear that (+ ne explétif)

détester (que) – to hate that

être content / heureux (que) – to be happy that

être désolé (que) – to be sorry that

être étonné (que) – to be surprised that

être fâché (que) – to be angry that

être fier (que) – to be proud that

être furieux (que) – to be furious that

être inquiet (que) – to be worried that

être ravi (que) – to be delighted that

être reconnaissant (que) – to be grateful that

être satisfait (que) – to be satisfied that

être surpris (que) – to be surprised that

être triste (que) – to be sad that

il est bizarre (que) – it is odd that

il est dommage (que) – it is a shame that

il est étonnant (que) – it is surprising that

il est étrange (que) – it is strange that

il est heureux (que) – it is fortunate that

il est incroyable (que) – it is incredible that

il est irritant (que) – it is irritating that

il est navrant (que) – it is distressing that

il est regrettable (que) – it is regrettable that

il est surprenant (que) – it is surprising that

il est triste (que) – it is sad that

redouter (que) – to dread that (+ ne explétif)

regretter (que) – to regret that

III. Doubt, uncertainty, denial

contester (que) – to challenge/contest that

douter (que) – to doubt that

il est douteux (que) – it is doubtful that

il est faux (que) – it is false that

il est impossible (que) – it is impossible that

il est improbable (que) – it is improbable that

il est incertain (que) – it is uncertain that

il n'est pas clair (que) – it is not clear that

il n'est pas évident (que) – it is not obvious that

il n'est pas probable (que) – it is not likely that

il n'est pas sûr (que) – it is not certain that

il n'est pas vrai (que) – it is not true that

nier (que) – to deny that (might use indicative if affirming a fact)

IV. Opinion, judgment, necessity

il est absurde (que) – it is absurd that

il est avantageux (que) – it is advantageous that

il est bon (que) – it is good that

il est capital (que) – it is crucial that

il est convenable (que) – it is proper that

il est curieux (que) – it is curious that

il est décevant (que) – it is disappointing that

il est déplorable (que) – it is deplorable that

il est difficile (que) – it is unlikely that

il est essentiel (que) – it is essential that

il est facile (que) – it is easy that (rare, often indicative)

il est important (que) – it is important that

il est indispensable (que) – it is indispensable that

il est injuste (que) – it is unfair that

il est inutile (que) – it is useless that

il est juste (que) – it is right/just that

il est logique (que) – it is logical that

il est naturel (que) – it is natural that

il est nécessaire (que) – it is necessary that

il est normal (que) – it is normal that

il est obligatoire (que) – it is obligatory that

il est préférable (que) – it is preferable that

il est rare (que) – it is rare that

il est souhaitable (que) – it is desirable that

il est temps (que) – it is time that

il est urgent (que) – it is urgent that

il faut (que) – it is necessary that (must)

il se peut (que) – it may be that

il vaut mieux (que) – it is better that

V. Conjunctions

à condition (que) – provided that

à moins (que)... (ne) – unless

afin (que) – so that

ainsi (que) – just as, so that (literary)

avant (que)... (ne) – before

bien (que) – although

de crainte (que)... (ne) – for fear that

de façon (que) – so that (result)

de manière (que) – so that (result)

de peur (que)... (ne) – for fear that

en attendant (que) – while, until

jusqu'à ce (que) – until

pour (que) – so that

pourvu (que) – provided that

quoique – although

sans (que) – without

soit (que)... soit (que) – whether... or

VI. Other important verbal structures

accepter (que) – to accept that

chercher... (qui) – to look for someone who

comprendre (que) – to understand that (emotional)

se désoler (que) – to be dismayed that

dire (que) – to say that (only in negative/interrogative)

éviter (que)... (ne) – to avoid (that)

faire en sorte (que) – to arrange it so that

il s'en faut (que) – it is far from being the case that

mériter (que) – to deserve that

penser (que) – to think that (only in negative/interrogative)

refuser (que) – to refuse that

se réjouir (que) – to be delighted that

supporter (que) – to bear, stand that

trouver (que) – to find that (in Il est troublant que... or negative/interrogative of opinion)

voir (que) – to see that (in negative/interrogative of perception)

Read more: subjunctive mood, expletive ne

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[gatoconfundido]

I'm celebrating a full year of learning Chinese these days. And this is how I read any text (or listen to any text for that matter). Ahahahaha. Ha. Ha.

[cynosurus]

Discovered a new word (or phrase)!

Wiktionary has more details on the etymology:

Used in context in bilibili fan video about the characters Damai and Nana in the TV series Meet Yourself.

[bngrc]

[jodiefosterwallace]

"this post transcends language XD" but it's a post with no english cognates at all

[jodiefosterwallace]

this transcends language

[bngrc]

在别人的帖子下面留一条烦人的评论 Leave an annoying comment under someone else's post 让这个笑话自己成立 Let the joke stand on its own 汤不热用户 Tumblr users

[marilearnsmandarin]

[marilearnsmandarin]

tbh I didn't understand this prompt, so I asked my teacher for some help.

She said it should be "地" instead of "的" and gave me these examples:

今天看了一部电影，里面的女主角让我开心地笑了。

睿莺开始写《五年日历》，并且今天来问了我问题，这让我欣慰地笑了。

The conversation reminded me of a post about "的" being accepted in place of "地" in Taiwan, now I'm trying to find it...

Edit: found it

[crystalis]

There was this woman poet in 4th century China called Su Hui (蘇蕙), a child genius who had reportedly mastered Chinese characters by age 3.

At 21 years old, heartbroken by her husband who left her for another woman, she decided to encode her feelings in a structure so intricate, so beautiful, so intellectually staggering that it still baffles scholars to this day.

Came to be known as the Xuanji Tu (璇璣圖) - the "Star Gauge" or "Map of the Armillary Sphere" - it's a 29 by 29 grid of 841 characters that can produce over 4,000 different poems.

Read it forward. Read it backward. Read it horizontally, vertically, diagonally. Read it spiraling outward from the center. Read it in circles around the outer edge. Each path through the grid produces a different poem - all of them coherent, all of them beautiful, all of them rhyming, all of them expressing variations on the same themes of longing, betrayal, regret, and undying love.

The outer ring of 112 characters forms a single circular poem - believed to be both the first and longest of its kind ever written. The interior grid produces 2,848 different four-line poems of seven characters each. In addition, there are hundreds of other smaller and longer poems, depending on the reading method.

At the center a single character she left implied but unwritten: 心 (xin) - "heart." Later copyists would add it explicitly, but in Su Hui's original the meaning was even more beautiful: 4,000 poems, all orbiting the space where her heart used to be.

Take for instance the outer red grid of the Star Gauge. Starting from the top right corner and reading down, you get this seven-character quatrain:

仁智懷德聖虞唐，

貞志篤終誓穹蒼，

欽所感想妄淫荒，

心憂增慕懷慘傷。

In pinyin, it is:

Rén zhì huái dé shèng yú táng,

zhēnzhì dǔ zhōng shì qióng cāng,

qīn suǒ gǎnxiǎng wàng yín huāng,

xīn yōu zēng mù huái cǎn shāng.

Notice how it rhymes? táng / cāng / huāng / shāng

The rough translation in English is: "The benevolent and wise cherish virtue, like the sage-kings Yao and Shun, With steadfast will I swear to the heavens above, What I revere and feel - how could it be wanton or dissolute? My heart's sorrow grows, longing brings only grief."

Now read it from the bottom to the top and you get this entirely different seven-character quatrain:

傷慘懷慕增憂心，

荒淫妄想感所欽，

蒼穹誓終篤志貞，

唐虞聖德懷智仁。

The pinyin:

Shāng cǎn huái mù zēng yōu xīn,

huāngyín wàngxiǎng gǎn suǒ qīn,

cāngqióng shì zhōng dǔzhì zhēn,

táng yúshèngdé huái zhì rén.

It rhymes too: xīn and qīn, zhēn and rén

And the meaning is just as beautiful and coherent: "Grief and sorrow, longing fills my worried heart, Wanton and dissolute fantasies - is that what you revere? I swear to the heavens my constancy is true, May we embody the sage-kings' virtue, wisdom, and benevolence."

That's just 2 poems out of the over 4,000 you can construct from the Xuanji Tu!

At the very center of the grid, the 8 red characters wrapped around the central heart, she "signed" her poem with a hidden message:

詩圖璇玑，始平蘇氏。 "The poem-picture of the Armillary Sphere, by Su of Shiping."

Or reversed:

蘇氏詩圖，璇玑始平。 "Su's poem-picture - the Armillary Sphere begins in peace."

Many scholars, and even emperors, throughout Chinese history have been completely obsessed by Su Hui's puzzle.

For instance, in the Ming dynasty, a scholar named Kang Wanmin (康萬民) devoted his entire life to the poems (kangshiw.com/contents/461/2…), ending up documenting twelve different reading methods - forward, backward, diagonal, radiating, corner-to-corner, spiraling - and extracting 4,206 poems. His book on the subject ("Reading Methods for the Xuanji Tu Poems", 璇璣圖詩讀法) runs to hundreds of pages.

Empress Wu Zetian herself, the legendary woman emperor of the Tang dynasty, wrote a preface to the Xuanji Tu around 692 CE (baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%BB%87…).

Incredibly, there's even far more complexity to the Xuanji Tu than just the poems:

- The name 璇玑 (Xuanji) - Armillary Sphere - is astronomical in meaning and the way the poems can be read mirrors the way celestial bodies orbit around a fixed center. It's a model of the heavens.

- Her original work, with the characters woven on silk brocade, was in five colors (red, black, blue/green, purple, and yellow) which correspond to the Five Elements (五行) - the foundational Chinese philosophical system that explains how the universe operates. So it's also a model of the entire cosmic order according to ancient Chinese philosophy.

- It's also of course deeply mathematical with this 29 x 29 perfect square grid, with sub-squares, lines and rectangles, and a structure which allows for symmetrical reading patterns in all directions

- Last but not least, the content of the poems themselves contain multiple registers. On top of expressing her personal grief and longing for her husband, it's also filled with accusations against the concubine (Zhao Yangtai) he left her for, reflections on politics (with many references to sage-kings) and philosophical reflections.

So the Star Gauge is simultaneously:

- A love letter (expressing personal longing)

- A legal brief (arguing her case against her rival)

- A cosmological model (structured like the heavens)

- A Five Element diagram (encoding the fundamental structure of the world according to ancient Chinese philosophy)

- A mathematical construction with perfect symmetry and precision

And yet, for all this complexity, we should not forget this was all ultimately in service of the simplest human message imaginable: a 21-year-old woman asking the love of her life "come back to me".

Her husband did, eventually. According to what empress Wu Zetian herself wrote in her preface to the Xuanji Tu, when he received Su's brocade he was so "moved by its supreme beauty" that he sent away his concubine and returned to his wife. As the story goes, they lived together until old age.

The heart at the center was filled after all.

[weishenmewwx]

Chinese 🤦🏻‍♀️

Just this once, I wish they had not simplified a character. I keep mixing up the words for “old friend” vs “enemy”.

Like, really? One stroke difference?

Friends are old 古 but you want to…lick your enemy 舌?

[caffedorzo]

会汉语的人，这样的瓜叫什么？

哈密瓜

梅陇瓜

蜜瓜

甜瓜？

其他的名字

秃头 / 结果

Voting ended onNov 6, 2025

[bpd-dylan-hall-deactivated20190]

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again but it is absolutely an example of civilizational inadequacy that only deaf people know ASL

“oh we shouldn’t teach children this language, it will only come in handy if they [checks notes] ever have to talk in a situation where it’s noisy or they need to be quiet”

[raginrayguns]

My mom learned it because she figured she’ll go deaf when she gets old

[manyblinkinglights]

My family went holiday SCUBA diving once, and a couple of Deaf guys were in the group. I was really little and I spent most of the briefing overcome with the realization that while the rest of us were going to have regulators in our mouths and be underwater fairly soon, they were going to be able to do all the same stuff and keep talking.

[tell-the-stars-hello]

The only reason some form of sign language is not a standard skill is ableism, as far as I can tell.

[emoracreations]

For anyone interested in learning, Bill Vicars has full lessons of ASL on youtube that were used in my college level classes. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/billvicars

and here’s the link to the website he puts in his videos:

https://www.lifeprint.com/

[naurielrochnur]

Update: you guys this is an amazing resource for learning asl. Bill Vicars is an incredible teacher. His videos are of him teaching a student in a classroom, using the learned vocabulary to have conversations.

Not only is the conversation format immersive and helpful for learning the grammar, but the students make common mistakes which he corrects, mistakes I wouldn’t have otherwise know I was making.

He also emphasizes learning ASL in the way it’s actually used by the Deaf community and not the rigid structure that some ASL teachers impose in their classrooms

His lesson plans include learning about the Deaf community, which is an important aspect of learning ASL. Knowing how to communicate in ASL without the knowledge of the culture behind it leaves out a lot of nuances and explanations for the way ASL is.

Lastly, his lessons are just a lot of fun to watch. He is patient, entertaining, and funny. This good natured enthusiasm is contagious and learning feels like a privilege and not a chore

And it’s all FREE. Seriously. If you’ve ever wanted to learn ASL

[tedrakitty]

@official-linguistics-post

[english-history-trip]

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

How to make 蜡染laran cloth(wax-resist dyeing cloth) in miao style of yunnan province (cr 杨再在)

[silly-signs]

Found this sign a while ago, I think it's kinda silly but also kind of ominous? Idk it's the vibe it gives.

Found it at a cafe and felt a need to take a photo.

Official silly sign

[linghxr]

If you've ever wondered what a bandaid wrapper looks like in China...

创口贴（創口貼）chuāngkǒutiē - band-aid 

创口 （創口）chuāngkǒu - wound; cut You may know 创 as chuàng (4th tone). For this other meaning of wound, it should be 1st tone. But I'm pretty sure I've heard people say chuàngkǒu, so don't sweat it.

高弹舒服

高弹（高彈）gāotán - high elasticity or stretch 舒服 shūfu - comfortable

不得二次使用

不得 bùdé - must not / may not / not to be allowed / cannot  二次 èrcì - second time / twice 使用 shǐyòng - to use / to employ / to apply / to make use of

弹力透气型

弹力（彈力）tánlì - elasticity / stretch 透气（透氣）tòuqì - to ventilate / to breathe (of fabric etc) 型 xíng - type / style / model 

已消毒

消毒 xiāodú - to disinfect; to sterilize 

为避免创口贴破损 请如图撕开包装

避免 bìmiǎn - to avert / to prevent / to avoid / to refrain from  破损（破損）pòsǔn - to become damaged  如图（如圖）rútú - as illustrated / as shown 撕开（撕開）sīkāi - to tear or rip open  包装（包裝）bāozhuāng - packaging 

由此撕开

由此 yóucǐ - from here 

I bought these bandaids in China, but I forgot the word and asked for a 绷带 bēngdài, which is like a wrap-around style bandage. When the pharmacist brought me a long roll, I said something like, "No, I need the little sticky ones." She looked at me like I was a bit of a fool 😬

In (at least my dialect of) English, bandage is ambiguous: it could be either type. If someone asked me for a bandage, I'd probably reply, "Which kind?" But my understanding is that in Chinese, 绷带 and 创口贴 are totally different categories.

[don-dake]

Interesting! Where I am (SEA), we call bandaids 「膠(胶)布」 [🥮 gaau¹ bou³，🀄 ㄐㄧㄠㄅㄨˋ/jiāo bù] and because of some influence from Taiwan, 「OK繃(绷)」 [🥮 OK bang¹，🀄 OK ㄅㄥ/OK bēng] is not unheard of sometimes.

And in English, we call bandaids “plaster”; at least I grew up using "plaster”, but thanks to strong US-English media influence, “bandaid” seems to be getting more commonly used where I am too, nowadays.

“Bandages” is for me, unambiguous; I understand it as the gauze, wrap-around kind, as is 「繃帶 (绷带)」 [🥮 bang¹ daai²，🀄 ㄅㄥㄉㄞˋ].

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

traditional chinese firework huohu火壶 by 江寻千

[gnars-house]

[hollowedskin]

This is beautiful. Is this the same lady that learned the iron fireworks technique too?

[depsidase]

[wordstream]

Alternate translations of 惊爆 jīngbào: unexpected, astonishing, shocking, staggering