#abookintargetlanguage

[pai-seh]

《活着》- 余华

I finished reading 活着 (To Live) by Yu Hua. It tells the story of one family in rural China through the years, covering historical events like the Land Reform, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution.

I’ve had that book for ages, but my Chinese was still in its baby stages when I bought it so I never actually read it. Glad I finally did!

I learned a bunch of new words and expressions, here are some of the more interesting ones (translations taken from Pleco):

上梁不正下梁歪 - When those above behave unworthily, those below will do the same.

大难不死，必有后福 - After surviving a great disaster one is bound to have good fortune in later years.

天无绝人之路 - Heaven never seals off all the exits. / There is always a way out.

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧 - As long as the green hills last, there will always be wood to burn. / Where there is life, there is hope.

[liu-anhuaming]

i just finished reading 《在细雨中呼喊》 by 余华, my first entire novel in mandarin. the picture above is a screenshot from my new vocab spreadsheet, which is where i copied down nearly every new word i encountered each day (no pic of the book bc i read a digital edition)

it was just over 300 pages long and it took me 25 days to read, which means i read an average of ~9 pages each day. at the beginning of the book, i was averaging ~25 unknown/new words per page, but by the end that number had gone down to ~7 words per page

i made two vocab posts based off the stuff i learned from this novel: (1) (2)

if i had to guess the most common character in this book (besides obvious ones like 我、的、地，etc.) it would be 惊 lol. everyone in this novel was constantly being scared or shocked

[finnishfun]

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki Toinen luku: Marge-tädin paha erehdys - Chapter 2: Aunt Marge’s Big Mistake

hetkauttaa - to shock aseistettu - armed hutkia - to hit, beat pikapuoliin - shortly koukku - hook ohimo - temple (body part) läpikotaisin - thoroughly murehtia - to worry ottaa vastaan - to welcome sora - gravel joskaan - even though salpautua - to become blocked uutukainen - new eversti - colonel kailottaa - to talk loudly epäkelpo - unfit ote - grip vaakalaudalla - at stake poissaoleva - absent-minded sepustus - story pikkurilli - little finger sapuska - food (colloquial) työteliäs - hardworking olla jollekin oikein - to serve someone right hamuilla - to fumble

[lily-learns-finnish]

A book in target language challenge

Luen “Avioliittotesti” kirjaa suomeksi, joka on selkokirjan versio “Avioliittosimulaattori” kirjasta. 

I am reading “Avioliittotesti” in Finnish, which is the simplified version of “Avioliittosimulaattori”. 

Ensimmäinen kappale on nimeltä “Rakkaus”, ja esitellään Aino, joka on päähahmo ja on Itä-Suomesta. Hän tapaa Jussin, joka on maanviljelijän poika ja on Länsi-Suomesta. 

The first chapter is called “Love”, and it introduces Aino, who is the main character and is from eastern Finland. She meets Jussi, who is a farmer’s song and is from western Finland. 

Uudet sanat

roteva - robust, sturdy röyhkeä - arrogant  silmäys - glance  kosketus - touch  läpikuultava - translucent  lempeästi - gently, kindly  morsian - bride sulhanen - groom

Verbit 

hengästyä - to become breathless kohota - to rise  ahdistua - to get nervous (intrans) kummitella - to haunt  ulvoa - to howl                   

[finnishfun]

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki Kymmenes luku: Kelmien kartta - Chapter 10: The Marauder’s Map

närkästynyt - annoyed maankamara - ground väikkyä - to glitter mennä vipuun - to be fooled puhekupla - speech bubble päälaki - top of the head tomuinen - dusty ei missään nimessä - by no means auliisti - willingly olinpaikka - location petturi - traitor pettää - to betray sinänsä - in itself illastaa - to have supper

Kelmien kartta - Marauder’s Map Kuutamo - Moony (kuutamo - moonlight) Matohäntä - Wormtail Anturajalka - Padfoot Sarvihaara - Prongs Peter Piskuilan - Peter Pettigrew

[finnishfun]

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki Kahdeksastoista luku: Kuutamo, Matohäntä, Anturajalka ja Sarvihaara - Chapter 18: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

armottomasti - ruthlessly tyystin - fully järkevöityä - to become more sensible vaivannäkö - trouble siedettävä - tolerable likimain - approximately syyllisyydentunne - feeling of guilt kartella - to avoid

[finnishfun]

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki Seitsemästoista luku: Kissa, rotta ja koira - Chapter 17: Cat, Rat and Dog

himmeä - dim mäiskiä - to smack narahtaa - to creak rappeutua - to decay ansa - trap irvailla - to make fun of uhitella - to threaten teurastaa - to slaughter rintakehä - ribcage, chest syleillä - to embrace väkinäinen - forced olennaisesti - essentially

[finnishfun]

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki Kuudestoista luku: Punurmion ennustus - Chapter 16: Professor Trelawney’s Prediction

rennosti - casually sarake - column (in a table) teloittaja - executioner itsehillintä - self-control vouhottaa - to make a big fuss suuntaan tai toiseen - one way or the other saeta - to thicken reputtaa - to fail an exam taka-ala - background päntätä - to study imarrella - to flatter aloillaan - still, not moving

S.U.P.E.R. (Se Uskomattoman Paha Erittäin Raskas - tutkinto) - N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test)