Mandarin Essentials

开窍 (kāiqiào) Be enlightened/ Begin to understand (Advanced)

开窍 (kāiqiào) Be enlightened/

Begin to understand

  

The character “开 (kāi)” means to open and “窍 (qiào)” means aperture.

Example: Wǒ gěi tā jiěshìle hěnduō biàn, tā zhōngyú kāiqiào le. 我给他解释了很多遍,他终于开窍了。

I explained it to him many times. Finally, he became to understand it.

Got …

辞旧迎新 (cíjiùyíngxīn) Ring out the Old Year and Ring in the New (Intermediate)

辞旧迎新 (cíjiùyíngxīn) Ring out the Old Year and Ring in the New

The character “辞 (cí)” means to bid farewell; “旧 (jiù)” means old or

former; “迎 (yíng)” means to welcome and “新 (xīn)” means new. Example: Háizimen fàng biānpào lái cíjiùyíngxīn. 孩子们放鞭炮来辞旧迎新。

The children …

Mini-test Answer: 马马虎虎 (Advanced)

Advanced Level 高级 (gāojí)

Correct answer: B Analysis: A. “Kuàikuàilèlè” is the Chinese pinyin for “快快乐乐cheerful.”

“快 (kuài)” means quick and “乐 (lè)” means cheerful.

B. “Mǎmǎhūhū” is the Chinese pinyin for “马马虎虎careless.” “马 (mǎ)” means horse and “虎 (hǔ)” means tiger.

C. “Tuántuányuányuán” is …

Quotes of the week (Jan.6,2010)

Rúguǒ wǒmen bù chénggōng, yídìng yǒurén chénggōng; rúguǒ wǒmen bù chénggōng, hòuhuǐ de yídìng shì wǒmen zìjǐ.b 如果我们不成功,一定有人成功;如果我们不成功,后悔的一定是我们自己。 If we fail, there must be someone who will succeed; if we fail, it will be us who will regret. —from Ma Yun, CEO of Alibaba, one …

联欢晚会 (liánhuān wǎnhuì) Festival Gala Evening (Intermediate)

联欢晚会 (liánhuān wǎnhuì) Festival Gala Evening

The character “联 (lián)” means to unite; “欢 (huān)” means happy; “晚

(wǎn)” means evening and “会 (huì)” means party.

Example:

Jùshuō chūnjié liánhuān wǎnhuì yǒu hěnduō míngxīng lái yǎnchū. 据说春节联欢晚会有很多明星来演出。

It is said that a lot of stars …

大餐 (dàcān) Sumptuous Meal (Intermediate)

大餐 (dàcān) Sumptuous Meal  

“大餐(dàcān)” are the Chinese characters for “Sumptuous Meal.” The

character “大 (dà)” means big or sumptuous and the character “餐 (cān)”

means meal.

Example:

Wǒ shèngdànjié wǎnshang yào hé péngyou yìqǐ qù chī dàcān. 我圣诞节晚上要和朋友一起去吃大餐。

I’m going to have a sumptuous …

中国工人入选时代周刊 Chinese Worker Selected as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”

中国工人入选时代周刊 (Zhōngguó gōngrén rùxuǎn shídài zhōukān) Chinese Worker Selected as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”

On Dec.16, 2009, “the Chinese worker” ended up ranking second in the selection of Time magazine’s prestigious “Person of the Year 2009.” They were the only group selected. Time …

Quote of the week (Dec.29,2009)

Fángzi jiàgé tàigāo, lǎopo yāoqiú tàigāo, liǎngzhě wǒ dōu zhuī bú shàng! wú fáng de wǒ, bùxiǎng bèi bōduó jiéhūn de quánlì! 房子价格太高,老婆要求太高,两者我都追不上!无房的我,不想被剥夺结婚的权利!

The price of houses is too high, my wife asks for too much, I can’t satisfy them both! I have no house, …

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