1. 怎么 + verb + 都/也 is a pattern meaning “no matter how hard one tries, still/just not…”
我在书店里怎么找都找不到！
权利在男人的手上，女人们怎么争取都没有用的。
他那传统的老观念，怎么改也改不过来。
2. 到底 is used in interrogative sentences to give a strong sense of impatience/anxiety/eagerness
昨天那个给你到电话的人到底是谁？
他到底跟你说了什么？
昨天你说去，今天又说不去，你到底去不去？
3. 看来 means “it seems” or “it looks like.” It tends to introduce a judgement or estimation based on information as opposed to feelings
太晚了，看来我们今天去不成了。
看来你并不相信我说的话。
Most Common Verbs in Chinese 🔦 PS: Get the best FREE Chinese online resources, just click here https://www.chineseclass101.com/?src=tumblr_infographic_common_verbs_8_101923
Random list of a few of my favorite Chinese words so far:
电灯泡 - literally "light bulb," figuratively, an unwanted third wheel
放鸽子 - literally "to place/put a pigeon," figuratively, to stand someone up/no show
死定 - screwed (as in doomed, not as in fucked)
圣诞老人 - Old Man Christmas, Santa Claus
鹅毛大雪 - goose-feather snow, a heavy snow of fluffy flakes
Every single time a word is made "the same but more" by doubling it, or doubling characters in general for emphasis (高高兴兴，长长久久, 安安轻轻，大大小小, 酸酸甜甜，干巴巴，to name a few)
半边天 - literally "half the sky," figuratively womankind
The vast versatility of 蛋 as a way to insult people (坏蛋，笨蛋， 混蛋)
赖床 - laze about in bed
惊喜 - pleasantly surprised
大丈夫 - literally big husband, figuratively a manly man
厉害 - cool, awesome, incredible
干嘛 - why on earth...?
大姨妈 - literally great aunt, figuratively shark week/that time of the month/menstruation
想得美 - in your dreams!
My personal constant ability to confuse 妇女 and 妓女. (Woman and prostitute)
Likewise, my personal constant ability to confuse 瓜子 and 傻瓜. (Melon seeds and fool)
小红书 (also referred to as xiaohongshu or XHS) is a Chinese image-based social media platform. It is a combination of the feed, likes, shopping, and video aspects of instagram, with the ~aesthetics~ and majority female audience of pintrest. I've grown really fond of it and found that it's algorithm is better than instagram and MUCH better than pintrest with giving me content I enjoy.
I'm going to offer some vocab that is either unique to the platform, or slang that is found on the platform (esp in bullet comments). I don't want this to be too long, so some terms may be omitted if they are found on many other social media apps
APP
小红书: Literally "Little Red Book". Probably a play off of Chairman Mao's book of speeches and writings which is also referred to as the Little Red Book. The app is not at all political, but more so trying to evoke the "essentiality" and "knowledge" aspect of the term.
笔记: Notes. XHS's name for its posts
收藏: Favorites. Separate from likes, these are bookmarked collections. This and Likes can be hidden
赞过: Likes. Notes that you "heart" will appear here.
关注: Notes from people you follow
发现: Discovery tab
附近: Recent notes
CONTENT
直播: Live-Streams
美甲: Nail Art
穿搭: Style
美食: Food
发型: Hairstyling
头像: Avatars/Profile Pictures
动漫: Animation and Comics
彩妆: Makeup
壁纸: Wallpapers
绘画: Drawing/Art
护肤: Skincare
影视: Film/TV
游行: Travel
减肥: Weight Loss
家居: Home
家装: Interior Design
学习: Studying
读书: Reading
情感: Romance
攝影: Photography
手工: Crafts
文化: Culture
游戏: Video Games
音乐: Music
舞蹈: Dance
搞笑: Comedy
明星: Stars
文具手: Stationary
校园生活: School Life
心里: Psychology
科学科普: Science
艺术: Art
社科: Social Sciences
萌龙: Cute
综艺: Variety
箱包: Handbags
潮鞋: Sneakers
健体塑型: Bodybuilding
职场: Office
婚礼: Wedding
汽车: Automobiles
潮玩手办: Collectable Figures
母婴: Parenting
机车: Motorbikes
户外: Outdoors
运动: Sports
露营: Camping
COMMENTS
(Things you'll see in tags/descriptions/bullet comments)
PLOG: Picture blog. Usually like a blog, but with photos/photo collage (also sometimes vlogs get this tag even though they're videos)
爱自己的100种方式: Originally from a feature on Douyin that would give a "treat yourself" style prompt if you comment this phrase
泰酷辣: Cool. Took off from this meme. “太酷啦”
上岸: Similar to "Goals". Usually posted to applaud an achievement/amazing life experience
巨: Super. Usually used in describing really tasty food “巨巨巨好吃”
cos: Cosplay
emo: The original meaning—emotional. More often used to mean a depressed mood than the style/subculture
磕: to ship a couple (cp)
For the Lesbians
t: Tomboy/masc lesbian (Sub-types include 铁t，奶t，娘t, 爷t, 长发t, 短发t)
p: Femme lesbian (p said to come from "Pretty girl" or “婆”）
h: neither femme nor masc/futch
le/les/啦啦: Lesbian
双女主: F/F couple (IRL or in fiction)
淘淘乐/TTL：T/T relationship
泡泡龙/PPL: P/P relationship
黄鹤楼HI: H/H relationship
TPL: T/P relationship
🐟: Ultra passive bottoms
I've started reading more in Chinese, so I've picked up some new (to me) measure words in the process. I feel like it's easy to become complacent and not learn new measure words. But actually, I've grown to appreciate their specificity and expressiveness.
Here are 20 measure words I wish I had learned sooner. I've also included examples, all of which I've actually encountered IRL.
(1) 架 jià - classifier for planes, large vehicles, radios etc
一架飞机 yí jià fēijī - an airplane
(2) 扇 shàn - classifier for doors, windows etc
一扇门 yí shàn mén - a door
一扇窗 yí shàn chuāng - a window
(3) 丝 | 絲 sī - classifier for a thread (of cloud, smoke etc), a bit, an iota, a hint (of sth) etc
一丝希望 yì sī xīwàng - a shred or glimmer of hope
(4) 枚 méi - classifier for coins, rings, badges, pearls, sporting medals, rockets, satellites etc
一枚弹壳 yì méi dànké - a shell casing
一枚金牌 yì méi jīnpái - a gold medal
(5) 粒 lì - classifier for small round things (peas, bullets, peanuts, pills, grains etc)
一粒沙 yí lì shā - a grain of sand
一粒米 yí lì mǐ - a grain of rice
(6) 阵 | 陣 zhèn - classifier for events or states of short duration
一阵掌声 yí zhèn zhǎngshēng - a burst of applause
一阵风 yí zhèn fēng - a burst of wind
一阵雨 yí zhèn yǔ - a burst of rain
(7) 幅 fú - classifier for textiles or pictures
一幅画 yì fú huà - a painting
(8) 通 tōng - classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc
一通电话 yì tōng diànhuà - a phone call
(9) 副 fù - classifier for pairs, sets of things & facial expressions
一副开心的样子 yí fù kāixīn de yàngzi - a happy look or expression
一副眼镜 yí fù yǎnjìng - a pair of glasses
(10) 艘 sōu - classifier for ships (Taiwan pr. sāo)
一艘船 yì sōu chuán - a boat
(11) 股 gǔ - classifier for smoke, smells etc (thread, puff, whiff) / classifier for sudden forceful actions
一股劲儿 yì gǔ jìnr - a burst of energy
一股臭味 yì gǔ chòuwèi - a whiff of a bad odor
(12) 名 míng - classifier for people
一名演员 yì míng yǎnyuán - an actor
一名歌手 yì míng gēshǒu - a singer
(13) 盏 | 盞 zhǎn - classifier for lamps
一盏灯 yì zhǎn dēng - a lamp
(14) 缕 | 縷 lǚ - classifier for wisps (of smoke, mist or vapor), strands, locks (of hair)
一缕头发 yì lǚ tóufa - a strand of hair
(15) 根 gēn - classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings
一根烟 yì gēn yān - a cigarette
一根葱 yì gēn cōng - a scallion
(16) 对 | 對 duì - classifier for a couple or a pair
一对夫妻 yí duì fūqī - a pair of husband and wife
一对夫妇 yí duì fūfù - a pair of husband and wife
(17) 份 fèn - classifier for gifts, newspaper, magazine, papers, reports, contracts etc
一份报告 yí fèn bàogào - a report
一份工作 yí fèn gōngzuò - a job
(18) 级 | 級 jí - classifier for steps, levels
一级台阶 yì jí táijiē - a step or stair
(19) 道 dào - classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc)
一道墙 yí dào qiáng - a wall
一道门 yí dào mén - a door
一道题 yí dào tí - a question or exercise
一道河 yí dào hé - a river
一道缝隙 yí dào fèngxì - a crack
(20) 支 zhī - classifier for army divisions and for songs or compositions
一支队伍 yì zhī duìwǔ - a team
一支乐曲 yì zhī yuèqǔ - a musical composition
Definitions are adapted from MDBG.
See similar posts:
"Bare" measure words (classifiers without demonstratives and numerals)
Let's learn some abbreviations 简称! A common format you may encounter is ABCD -> AC. AB is one word, CD is another word, and the two can be abbreviated as AC. As a learner, these can be a bit tricky to figure out the first time, but I find that they're usually pretty easy to remember if you know both constituent words.
限时 | 限時 xiànshí - to set a time limit / for a limited time / time-limited / limited period of time
动态 | 動態 dòngtài - movement / motion / development / trend
(6) 业务配合 -> 业配
业配 | 業配 yèpèi - writing an article or creating a video favorable to a business in return for payment from the business (Taiwan)
业务 | 業務 yèwù - business / professional work / service
配合 pèihé - to coordinate with / to act in concert with / to cooperate
(7) 客户服务 -> 客服
客服 kèfú - customer service
客户 | 客戶 kèhù - client / customer
服务 | 服務 fúwù - to serve / service
hi everyone! i decided to write a new introduction for this blog as it has been a while since i’ve posted & i feel like a new start is good for the new year.
my name is kayla and my chinese name is 志慧 (zhìhuì). i am 16 years old but i turn 17 in a few months (’05 liner) ! my pronouns are she/her. the only language that i am fluent in is english, while i am studying both mandarin chinese and french. i study mandarin on my own (and struggle a lot with self-discipline, as i have learned haha) but i’ve been taking french for almost 3 years at my school. my french is definitely better than my mandarin but i would not say i am anywhere fluent in either.
some other interests of mine are crocheting and kpop! i love using tumblr to help learn languages because it is so motivating seeing other people on their own learning journeys!
thank you for joining me here on my blog!!!!
i do not tolerate racism, homophobia, or any form of hate speech on this page. i am also a minor and i will not hesitate to block you if you make me or anyone else on my page uncomfortable.
i already have 40 followers?? i know that’s not a lot and it’s been a couple months since i opened this account, but i’m glad you guys seem to enjoy my posts even though i’m pretty inactive. i feel like this account has already grown a lot and reached people so thank you!
wow 255 followers! i took a year break without even intending to as school became a lot more stressful with covid and now i am in my junior year of high school. thank you so much for continuing to support even though i have not been very active, it really helps motivate me :) i am going to try to start casually learning mandarin again and also try to post more in 2022!!! happy new year everyone and good luck on your own language learning journeys <3
所有的 / suǒ yǒu de / all of something (with no exceptions)
基本 / jī běn / basic, basically
放 / fàng / to play (music, movies, etc.)
古典 / gǔ diǎn / classical (music)
摇滚 / yáo gǔn / rock & roll (literal translation)
其他(它) / qí tā / other
真实 / zhēn shí / real, realistic, true
爵士(乐) / jué shì (yuè) / jazz (music)
乡村音乐 / xiāng cūn yīn yuè / country music (lit: countryside)
过瘾 / guò yǐn / satisfying, fulfilling
声音 / shēng yīn / voice
超 / chāo / super- (prefix)
同意 / tóng yì / to agree
爱情 / aì qíng / love (noun)
方面 / fāng miàn / side
另 / lìng / other, another
说唱 / shuō chàng / rap
闹 / nào / noisy (negative connotation)
心烦 / xīn fán / to feel annoying
Extra:
梁静茹 / liáng jìng rú / "Fish" Pop Singer
王菲 / wáng fēi / Faye Wong
语法：谈不上 / tán bu shàng / I can't say...
我刚认识他，所以谈不上了解。I just met him, so I can't say that I know him.
我不太喜欢他，可是夜谈不上讨厌他。I don't really like him, but I can't say that I hate him (either).
你喜欢什么类型的音乐？你喜欢谁的歌？为什么？What type of music do you like? Whose songs do you like? Why?
流行音乐，梁静茹的。因为觉得他的歌(儿)不但旋律优美，而且歌词写得特别好。他所有的歌我都喜欢。Pop music, Fish's (music). Because I think her songs not only have beautiful melodies, but also are well-written. I like all of her songs.
流行音乐。没有为什么，现在到处放的基本都是流行音乐。Pop music. No real reason why, right now (the music) playing everywhere is all basically pop music.
古典音乐很少听，谈不上喜欢吧。(I) rarely listen to classical music, I can't say that I like it.
摇滚。我觉得和其它乐比起来，摇滚乐更真实，更自由。Rock. I think compared to other music, rock music is more real, more free.
我喜欢流行音乐。我喜欢王菲，你不觉得她的声音超好听吗？I like pop music. I like Faye Wong, don't you think her voice is super pretty?
你喜欢爵士乐或者乡村音乐吗？Do you like jazz or country music?
不喜欢，那些音乐听起来一点不过瘾。I don't like (them), those (types of) music don't sound satisfying at all.
流行音乐一方面唱的人比较多，另一方面也比较好学。(For) pop music, for one thing there are relatively a lot of people who sing it, for another thing it's also relatively easy to learn.
不喜欢说唱音乐，太闹了，听着心烦。I don't like rap music, too noisy, listening to it makes me annoyed.
Hi everyone! If you have the time, I would really appreciate if you filled out this Google form that I made for a school project :) The questions discuss language and cultural identity.
in English, it’s common to explain the effect of something and then describe its cause.
eg. I ate ten buns at lunch because I was so hungry.
↝ Cause (I was so hungry) comes after effect (I ate ten buns)
in Chinese, it’s more common the explain the cause of something and then describe the effect.
eg. 因为我那么饿，所以午饭吃了十个包子。
Because I was so hungry, I ate ten buns at lunch.
↝ Cause (I was so hungry) comes before effect (I ate ten buns).
因为 [cause], 所以 [effect] (yīnwèi… suǒyǐ…) is a common structure to describe “because [cause], so [effect]”. this structure makes it easier to place the cause and effect in the correct order :)
i already have 40 followers?? i know that’s not a lot and it’s been a couple months since i opened this account, but i’m glad you guys seem to enjoy my posts even though i’m pretty inactive. i feel like this account has already grown a lot and reached people so thank you!
I’m sure you’ve noticed in your Chinese studies that there are some words for which you can switch the order of the characters and get a new word! In Chinese these can be called 倒序词. I’ve put together a list of 20 倒序词 pairs, most of which I’ve stumbled across over the past couple years. It’s so interesting to see the relationships between the words! Most example sentences are via Pleco.
开放 kāifàng - to bloom / to open / to be open (to the public) / to open up (to the outside) / to be open-minded / unrestrained by convention
图书馆从上午9点开放到下午6点。
放开 fàng//kāi - to let go / to release
妈妈放开了女儿的手。
喜欢 xǐhuan - to like / to be fond of
你喜欢不喜欢中国音乐？
欢喜 huānxǐ - happy / joyous / delighted / to like / to be fond of
她心跳加速，满心欢喜。
著名 zhùmíng - famous / noted / well-known / celebrated
我们的中文老师是一位著名的小说家。
名著 míngzhù - masterpiece, famous book, celebrated work
我最近读的名著有点太多了。
犯罪 fàn//zuì - to commit a crime / crime / offense
听到她的犯罪历史，我大吃一惊。
罪犯 zuìfàn - criminal
警察还没有抓到那些罪犯。
事故 shìgù - accident
事故的原因还在调查之中。
故事 gùshì - old practice || gùshi - narrative / story / tale
这是一个真实的故事。
女儿 nǚ'ér - daughter
他们的三个孩子都是女儿，没有儿子。
儿女 érnǚ - children / sons and daughters
儿女有赡养老人的义务。
Straight-Man Cancer, Electric Brain, and Other Chinese You Should Know! A ppt that I made for a ppt party (as the trendy tiktok teens like to do I guess). These are just some of the clever neologisms and other phrases in Chinese that I like. Who says Chinese is boring?
Electric Brain is a neologism that means computers. Besides just being a fantastically colorful phrase for such a common object, I I used both traditional (TC) and simplified Chinese (SC) to further demonstrate how Chinese language has adapted over. The TC has the radical for rain, demonstrating a belief that electricity came from rain clouds (ie lightning). The change to SC in this case was seen as part of a movement towards modernization.
On the topic of brains, “brainwash” is a direct translations of Chinese 洗脑 (xînâo), which was used to describe Mao Zedong’s influence over China in the 50s to 70s. 洗脑 follows the pattern of 洗心 (xîxīn), which is used in Taoism to refer to cleaning or purifying one’s heart.
Straight-Man Cancer is a popular phrase used by young people to describe “toxic masculinity” and ideologies which support traditional (hierarchal) gender roles, such as those outlined by 三从四德 (Three Obediences and Four Virtues for women under Confucianism). Straight-Man Cancer can thus be seen as one type of 老思想 (old and outdated ideas/norms).
In China, censorship is a key part of maintaining a “harmonious society” (和谐社会 [héxié shèhuì]). Automated systems will tag key words based on their characters, giving rise to clever work arounds, as seen in the “10 Mythical Animals of Baidu.” The Grass-Mud Horse (câonímâ) is synonymous for another not-so-nice phrase about someone’s mother (if you know, you know), while River Crab (héxiè) is synonymous for the aforementioned “harmonious society” and is used to discuss censorship in general.
And, to make this ppt truly useful, I’ve included some phrases relevant to this terrible, terrible year called 2020. 天下大乱 (tiānxià dàluàn) is a chengyu which basically means “shit’s a mess.” It was apparently used by Mao Zedong to describe the Cultural Revolution. Another chengyu that comes to mind is 满目疮痍 (mânmù chuāngyí) which means “everywhere one looks, a scene of devastation meets the eye.”
“No zuo no die” is Chinglish for “if you act illogically, you will pay the consequences.” In other words, wear a mask folks! Lastly, 来福萨克斯 (láifú sàkèsī) is a wonderful transliteration of “life sucks.” Please see the goddess Jolin Tsai’s song “消极班” for real-life usage.
And to conclude, 加油 (jiāyóu) means “add oil” (keep going!) while 慢走 (mànzôu) means “take it easy.” Lastly, 白面书生 (báimiànshūshēng) )refers to people who read a lot but have no practical understanding of the world (insert gif of “You know nothing, Jon Snow”).
And that’s the wrap! Hope this was maybe a little helpful or interesting, or that at the very least you got to enjoy my *aesthetic* af slides. 拜～～～～
