leino

Olga, a lang enthusiast. Native — Russian Studying Mandarin (HSK3), German (B1), Klingon, and occasionally English. In addition to my target languages I also reblog Russian and other languages of Russia. Feel free to shoot me a message! This is a side blog, my main is erlenwein.

[corvidconventicle]

My new favourite idiom is 画蛇添足 basically meaning to ruin something by overdoing

Quite literally ‘draw snake add feet’

Pinyin: Huàshé tiānzú

Traditional: 畫蛇添足

[liu-anhuaming]

空前绝后 「空前絕後」 kong1 qian2 jue2 hou4 unprecedented and never to be duplicated, the first and the last, unmatched, unique

以前从来不曾有过，以后也不会再有。形容非常杰出、难得。 「以前從來不曾有過，以後也不會再有。形容非常傑出、難得。」

【例句】他考上大学的消息，在这个小山村引起了空前绝后的轰动。 「他考上大學的消息，在這個小山村引起了空前絕後的轟動。」

竭尽全力「竭盡全力」 jie2 jin4 quan2 li4 to spare no effort, to do one’s utmost

竭尽：用尽 「竭盡：用盡」

用尽全部力量。 「用盡全部力量。」

【例句】这个意见完全正确，我们应该竭尽全力去做。 「這個意見完全正確，我們應該竭盡全力去做。」

得不偿失 「得不償失」 de2 bu4 chang2 shi1 the gains do not make up for the losses

偿：抵偿 「償：抵償」

得到的抵偿不了损失的。 「得到的抵償不了損失。」

【例句】他不赞成轻率地发动一场没有经过酝酿和计划的示威，因为那样做得不偿失。 「他不贊成輕率地發動一場沒有經過醞釀和計劃的示威，因為那樣做得不償失。」

刻不容缓 「刻不容緩」 ke4 bu4 rong2 huan3 to brook no delay, to demand immediate action

刻：片刻，很短的时间；缓：延缓，拖延 「刻：片刻，很短的時間；緩：延緩，拖延」

片刻也不容耽搁。形容情势非常紧迫。 「片刻也不容耽擱。形容情勢非常緊迫。」

【例句】经济飞速发展的今天，国民收入分配制度的改革刻不容缓。 「經濟飛速發展的今天，國民收入分配制度的改革刻不容緩。」

不屑一顾 「不屑一顧」 bu4 xie4 yi1 gu4 to disdain as beneath contempt

不屑：认为不值得（做）；顾：看 「不屑：認為不值得（做）；顧：看」

非常轻视，连看一眼都觉得不值。 「非常輕視，連看一眼都覺得不值。」

【例句】她对任何事情都显示出不屑一顾的神情。 「她對任何事情都顯示出不屑一顧的申請。」

[haxyr3]

Word of the Day: защита

защита /zɐˈɕːitə/ noun, feminine – defense, protection; public examination, defense of final thesis in the University

At the final year, a student should present дипломная работа, thesis. The procedure of the public hearing of дипломная работа, with the jury called дипломная комиссия, is called защита, defense.  If защита goes well, a student will get диплом, a diploma.

[fyeahcindie]

I think this 2018 single was the last release from Hello Nico, and they are not posting much on social media; but I see they played 湖畔音樂季 Lakeside Fest. in Taichung a few days ago, so perhaps they will record again? =D

詹宇庭 Chan Yuting-voc, Jimmy Kuan (關惠中)-drums, 李詠恩 Joshua Lee-gtr/keys, 陳信伯 Nick Chen bass.

親愛的自己 was written by Joshua (music) and Nick (lyrics). More info and lyrics back at YT.

Drummer Jimmy released a single featuring Yuting a few months ago, and it's a beautiful thing:

Lyrics: 詹宇庭 Chan Yuting

Composer: Yuting & Jimmy

Produced/Arranged/Mixed: 關惠中Jimmy KUAN More info and lyrics back at YT.

Let's hear a song from the set at Lakeside fest:

一起追星去 Party Star has more from that gig. =D

Links: Instagram, 黑市音樂 Black Market Music HK YouTube, StreetVoice, Spotify, Jimmy Kuan YouTube, Jimmy Kuan IG

[daily-klingon]

Noun Suffix Drill: Type 2 -mey

Part 3

This drill focuses on the use of -mey in the sense of body parts scattered all about or anatomical parts severed from the body. This list looks back at the anatomical parts lists originally covered by our looks into the -Du’ noun suffix.

This is going to be so much fun. *sharpens knife*

Читать дальше

[liu-anhuaming]

失魂落魄 shi1 hun2 luo4 po4 lit. lost soul dropped spirit, driven to distraction, scared out of one’s wits

魂、魄：旧时指离开人的形体还能存在的精神为魂，依附形体而显现的精神为魄 「魂、魄：舊時指離開人的形體還能存在的精神為魂，依附形體而顯現的精神為魄」

形容心神不宁、精神恍惚或因受强烈的刺激而行动失常。 「形容心神不寧、精神恍惚或因受強烈的刺激而行動失常。」

【例句】对于一受到挫折就失魂落魄的孩子，应加强心理教育，使其树立正确的成败观。 「對於一受到挫折就失魂落魄的孩子，應加強心理教育，使其樹立正確的成敗觀。」

抛砖引玉 「拋磚引玉」 pao1 zhuan1 yin3 yu4 lit. to throw a brick to attract jade, I offer a humble remark, to get the ball rolling

抛出砖块，引来宝玉 「拋出磚塊，引來寶玉」

比喻用自己粗浅的、不成熟的意见或论著，引出别人高明的、成熟的意见或作品。多用作谦辞。 「比喻用自己粗淺的、不成熟的意見或論著，引出別人高明的、成熟的意見或作品。多用作謙辭。」

【例句】以上我的发言很不成熟，不过是抛砖引玉而已。 「以上我的發言很不成熟，不過是拋磚引玉而已。」

墨守成规 「墨守成規」 mo4 shou3 cheng2 gui1 hidebound by convention

墨守：战国时墨翟善于守城，后称善守为“墨守”；成规：现成的或一直采取的规则、方法 「墨守：戰國時墨翟善於守城，後稱善守為“墨守”；成規：現成的或一直採取的規則、方法」

比喻固执地接老一套版，不求改进。 「比喻固執地接老一套版，不求改進。」

【例句】在技术上要大胆革新，不能墨守成规。「在技術上要大膽革新，不能墨守成規。」

循序渐进 「循序漸進」 xun2 xu4 jian4 jin4 in sequence, step by step, to make steady progress incrementally 

循：依照，按照；序：次序 

指事物发展或学习工作按照一定的顺序或步骤逐步深入或提高。 「指事物發展或學習工作按照一定的順序或步驟逐步深入或提高。」

【例句】学习知识不能急于求成，要循序渐进。 「學習知識不能急於求成，要循序漸進。」

入不敷出 ru4 bu4 fu1 chu1 income does not cover expenditure, unable to make ends meet

敷：足、够。 「敷：足、夠。」

收入抵不上支出。指开销大。 「收入抵不上支出。指開銷大。」

【例句】爸爸下岗了，家里经济拮据，月月入不敷出。 「爸爸下崗了，家裡經濟拮据，月月入不敷出。」

[haxyr3]

Word of the Day: слежка

слежка /ˈslʲeʂkə/ noun, feminine – shadowing, surveillance, stakeout, spying

Он заметил за собой слежку. He noticed he was being followed.

[fyeahcindie]

Let's check out Taipei band 溫蒂漫步 Wendy Wander =D

I think they formed in 2018 (their social pages opened that year) and the 5-piece band released their debut album Spring Spring last November. The members are: 江楊順言 Sam Yang-Voc/Bass, 俞曾妮 Jenny Yu-Voc/Gtr, 王瑋翔 Will Wong-Gtr, 李曜如 Jonathan Li-Keys, 謝昕叡 Ray Xie-Drums.

The song was written by Jenny, arranged by the band, and produced by 吳品賢 Star Wu. The arrangement is tastefully elevated by the playing of guest musician 何敏慈 Dora Ho-Trumpet (fr. B Ａ D 玩銅樂團 Brass and Drum Band)

Full a/v credits and lyrics back at YT.

Here they are earlier on Sunday at The WALL, covering the Bill Withers classic:

CF Yang YT channel has more from their set.

Links: YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, StreetVoice, KKBOX, Weibo, music.163.com (streaming in China)

[daily-klingon]

Bonus Verb Drill - bIj

Infinitive bIj punish, punish, punish (v)

First person singular jIbIj I punish qabIj I punish you vIbIj I punish him, her, it SabIj I punish you vIbIj I punish them

Second person singular bIbIj You punish chobIj You punish me DabIj You punish him, her, it jubIj You punish us DabIj You punish them

Third person singular bIj He, she, it punishes mubIj He, she, it punishes me DubIj He, she, it punishes you bIj He, she, it punishes him, her, it nubIj He, she, it punishes us lIbIj He, she, it punishes you bIj He, she, it punishes them

First person plural mabIj We punish pIbIj We punish you wIbIj We punish him, her, it rebIj We punish you DIbIj We punish them

Second person plural SubIj You punish tubIj You punish me bobIj You punish him, her, it chebIj You punish us bobIj You punish them

Third person plural bIj They punish mubIj They punish me nIbIj They punish you lubIj They punish him, her, it nubIj They punish us lIbIj They punish you bIj They punish them

Imperative, no object yIbIj! punish! pebIj! punish!

Imperative, 1st person sg. object HIbIj! punish me! HIbIj! punish me!

Imperative, 3rd person sg. object yIbIj! punish him, her, it! yIbIj! punish him, her, it!

Imperative, 1st person pl. object ghobIj! punish us! ghobIj! punish us!

Imperative, 3rd person pl. object tIbIj! punish them! tIbIj! punish them!

[haxyr3]

Remember, kids, when you bury a corpse, plant red book plants on top so it’s illegal to dig them up.

Красная книга - the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book

[daily-klingon]

Bonus Verb Drill - bagh

Infinitive bagh tie (a knot) (v)

First person singular jIbagh I tie qabagh I tie you up vIbagh I tie him, her, it up / I tie it Sabagh I tie you up vIbagh I tie them up

Second person singular bIbagh You are tying chobagh You tie me up Dabagh You tie him, her up / you tie it jubagh You tie us up Dabagh You tie them up

Third person singular bagh He, she, it ties mubagh He, she, it ties me up Dubagh He, she, it ties you up bagh He, she, it ties up him, her / he, she, it ties it nubagh He, she, it ties us up lIbagh He, she, it ties you up bagh He, she, it ties them up

First person plural mabagh We are tying pIbagh We tie you up wIbagh We tie him, her up / we tie it rebagh We tie you up DIbagh We tie them up

Second person plural Subagh You tie tubagh You tie me up bobagh You tie him, her up / you tie it chebagh You tie us up bobagh You tie them up

Third person plural bagh They are tying mubagh They tie me up nIbagh They tie you up lubagh They tie him, her up / they tie it nubagh They tie us up lIbagh They tie you up bagh They tie them up

Imperative, no object yIbagh! tie! pebagh! tie!

Imperative, 1st person sg. object HIbagh! tie me up! HIbagh! tie me up!

Imperative, 3rd person sg. object yIbagh! tie up him, her / tie it! yIbagh! tie up him, her / tie it!

Imperative, 1st person pl. object ghobagh! tie us up! ghobagh! tie us up!

Imperative, 3rd person pl. object tIbagh! tie them up! / tie them! tIbagh! tie them up! / tie them!

[meichenxi]

Some sports I like in Chinese

Disclaimer necessary that these are probably not the most useful sports. I just like sliding really fast and kicking things

跆拳道 - táiquándào - taekwondo

健美操  - jiànměicāo  - calisthenics / gymnastics / aerobics

滑板 - huábǎn - skate-boarding

健身 - jiànshēn - bodybuilding

街舞 - jiēwǔ - street dance…这！就是街舞

太极拳 - tàijíquán - um…taijiquan e.g.  杨氏太极拳 yángshì tàijíquán - Yang-style taiji

空手道 - kōngshǒudào - karate, yes, just like kara-te the Chinese also means ‘way of the open hand’

体育舞蹈 - tǐyù wǔdǎo - dance-sport / competitive dancing (ballroom etc)

乒乓球  - pīngpāngqiú - ping pong / table tennis. My favourite two hanzi there

轮滑 - lúnhuá  - roller-blading

排球 - páiqiú - volleyball 

剑道  - jiàndào - way of the straight sword i.e. here specifically kendo, not whatever wwx doesn’t do

户外运动  - hùwàiyùndòng - outdoor exercise

Finally:

毽球 - jiànqiú - shuttlecock (?) - the feathery thing you kick in a park standing in a circle (or maybe fail to kick). I didn’t know until today that apparently it’s also a regulated COMPETITIVE SPORT, two a side, and you need to watch this video today if you do one thing because it’s the CRAZIEST shit

 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1gW411w7bB?from=search&seid=1297878950862484457 

[haxyr3]

Heyyy, I wanted to ask my fellow Russian learners which Russian musicians/songs they listen to, especially Pop/Rock :) I'm looking for stuff to have on in the background to get more used to the sound of the language, and so far I have one song I like plus uuh a ton of Disney songs in Russian (I!! noticed!! that in Antastasia's "In the Dark of the Night", in English, he says "do svidanja, Anja" and in Russian he says "до свидания, Настя"!! I noticed something!!)

My dear Russian learners, can you help?

[drwcn]

On what a concubine's child would call his biological mother, were the rules different for the imperial family, like with everything else? Because I was watching Nirvana in Fire and I could swear I heard the Crown Prince call Consort Yu "Mufei"

Hi Anon, another anon asked a similar question (below), so I’m going to answer the two of your together! 

How does kinship work in the royal family? That is, a prince referring to his father the emperor, his paternal and maternal uncles and aunts, his mother empress and referring to other concubines. Or in the case in which the prince was born of a concubine, the same. I love your blog! ^^

Some Pre-amble: 

So, yes, the royal family does the whole ‘address’ thing a little differently. 

To answer the first anon’s question, the term he heard was 母妃 “mufei”, which is what an royal prince or princess calls their mother, when their mother is a concubine. However, I believe the mother still has to be at least at the rank of “consort”, because ‘fei’ = consort. 

So from highest to lowest, members of the harem are: 

Empress (皇后) - huang’hou

Imperial Noble Consort (皇贵妃) - huang’guifei

Noble Consort (贵妃) - guifei

Consort 妃 - fei

Concubine (嫔) - pin

贵人 - gui’ren

常在 - chang’zai

答应 - da’ying

管女子 - guan’nvzi. 

I believe this is actually the ranking system in the last dynasty (the Qing dynasty), and different dynasties have slightly different ranking, especially for the lower ranking ones. For the Ming dynasty (aka the dynasty before Qing), I believe they are these ones:  皇后、皇贵妃、贵妃、妃、昭仪 (chao yi)、婕妤 (jie yu)、美人(mei ren)、才人 (zairen)、贵人 (gui ren)，选侍 (xuan shi)、淑女 (shu nv). But the ones I’ve listed above for the Qing dynasty are the ones most Chinese people are familiar with. 

Note that every member of the harem also uses either a given monosyllable ‘special name’ before their rank or their own last name. Only the ones favoured by the Emperor or has high enough status are given a “special name”. Once that special name is given, their last name is dropped from their title. In Nirvana in Fire, the Crown Prince’s mother at the start of the show is a Noble Consort. Her complete title Yue’guifei 越贵妃:

“越” - “贵妃”  “special name/last name” - “rank”  “Yue” - “Guifei” 

In 甄嬛传,  Noble Consort Hua’s last name is Nian. Hua is her ‘special name’. When she was at the height of her power, she was Hua’guifei, but when she was demoted to a da’ying, she was reduced to Nian-da’ying. At that point, her ‘special name’ was rescinded and she reverted to using her last name in her title. 

Okay so now that preamble is out of the way, here we go. Note, the below address are NON-QING DYNASTY. Qing Dynasty is like... different, because they’re Manchurians. 

Father

父皇 fu’huang - fu = father, huang = imperial/emperor

Mothers:

What the Empress’s children should call the Empress: 

母后  mu’hou - this is imperial equivalent of the formal Mother and is only reserved for the Empress. “Hou” = Empress/Queen. The empress is technically mother of all the children in the harem.

What all royal children should call the Empress: 

母后  mu’hou 

皇后娘娘 huang’hou-niang’niang - this is a respectful way to address the queen. It’s like...Your Majesty the Empress. “Huang’hou” = imperial empress. “Niang’niang” = the address we can use towards higher ranking members of the harem, at least consort or higher. 

What children of “imperial noble consort”, “noble consort”, and “consort” should call their own mothers: 

母妃 mu’fei 

What children of lower ranked harem-members should call their own mothers:

I’m actually... not sure to be honest, because in tv shows, once concubines have children (especially sons) they’re typically promoted...I guess the formal “mother - muqin” would be okay.

What royal children should call members of the harem (except the empress) who are not their own mothers:

A) If the harem member is imperial noble consort, noble consort, or consort: 

“special name”/ “last name” - mu’fei  -> e.g.: Ling-fei 令妃 (Consort Ling) would be 令母妃 (Ling-mu’fei). This option is only used if the child is close to this particular harem member.

Title-niang’niang -> e.g.: Ling-fei 令妃 (Consort Ling) would be 令母娘娘 Lingfei-niang’niang. 

B) If the harem member is lower rank than consort:

Title alone would do.

Grandfathers 

If the Emperor has grandchildren, they would refer to their Grandfather (Emperor) as 皇祖父 huang-zufu = imperial grandfather. The maternal grandfather is just the same as everyone else’s 外祖父 wai-zufu. 

If the Emperor’s children is referring to their dead grandfather aka the previous emperor, it can be 皇祖父 huang-zufu but it’s typically 先帝 xiandi, which means “previous emperor” LOL. 

Grandmothers

If the royal children we’re thinking of are the grandchildren of the current Emperor, they would refer to their respective paternal grandmothers (aka members of the harem) the same as everyone else aka 祖母 zumu = grandmother, but the Empress is technically their 皇祖母 huang’zumu = imperial grandmother. 

The empress’s own grandchildren would of course refer to her as  皇祖母 huang’zumu = imperial grandmother.

If the royal children are referring to their grandmother the Dowager Empress, it’s still 皇祖母 huang’zumu = imperial grandmother. Or they can just call her by her title 太后 tai’hou = Dowager Empress. 

Uncles

By uncle I mean your father’s brothers. Your mother’s brother’s don’t get the same treatment because patriarchy. Seriously. Princess’s children don’t have to call their Uncles (the Princes) anything that special. It’s just jiujiu. Lol. 

Honestly...even paternal uncles don’t really need special titles.  It’s relatively the same as everyone else, but I’ve seen 皇叔 huangshu = imperial uncle being used. 

Some times you could have like... 10 paternal uncles because your granddad was the emperor and he had a harem. In that case, princes and princesses really do just say “4th Uncle” or “1st Uncle” aka “da’bo”, “er’bo”, “wu-shu” etc etc etc. 

[haxyr3]

Quick Question: How do you call this in English?

Each Russian college/ university student has зачётка, зачётная книжка where profs leave test and exam records. This is the main document that registers all semi-finals and finals. At the end, one exchanges it for diploma. 

Do you have it in your universities? And how to you call it? 

[daily-klingon]

Verb Drill - bur

bur is an intransitive verb. As such, it does not take an object.

Infinitive bur hiccup (v) Present no object jIbur I hiccup bIbur you hiccup bur he, she, it hiccups mabur we hiccup Subur you hiccup bur they hiccup

[neestudies]

Chrome extensions for language learning

TransOver: translates any word you find on a website. Provides multiple definitions for a single word, and has a lot of useful settings, such as font size, the option to chose which websites you don’t want it to translate on, or which websites you want it to exclusively translate on. 

Readlang: translates any word you find on a website. Allows you to save words into a list that you can learn from later, along with the option to memorize them through pre-made flashcards. This extension only works if the website you’re visiting is of your target language. 

Google Translate: similar to both extensions listed above, has less features, but more languages.

Language Learning With YouTube: this is an extension for learning a language while watching YouTube videos that already have subtitles or auto-captions. Its features include a pop-up dictionary, suggestions for the most important words to learn, and the option to have two subtitles playing at the same time.

Language Learning With Netflix: this extension is for learning a language while watching Netflix. It has the same features as Language Learning With YouTube; a pop-up dictionary, suggestions for the most important words to learn, and the option to have two subtitles playing at the same time.