Archive for May 21st, 2008

Children Chinese – Weekdays

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Weekdays
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Topic: weekdays

(Source: www.chinese4kids.net)

Chinese Pinyin – Introduction of Chinese Pinyin Tones

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Tones are an important part of Chinese, which are the variation of pitch within a syllable and are used to distinguish words with same Pinyin. There are basiclly four tones and one neutral tone in Mandarin Chinese. The following chart illustates the four basic tones.

Basic Four Tone Marks

Tones Tone Marks Descriptons Examples
1st tone 阴平 high level dā 耷(drop down)
2nd tone 阳平 high rising dá 答(answer)
3rd tone 上声 low dipping dǎ 打(hit)
4th tone 去声 high falling dà 大(big)

The neutral tone, occurs on stressless syllables and has a pitch entirely determined by the tones of adjacent syllables. However, a neutral will never act as the starting tone. Neutral tones are usually unmarked. For example, the red parts of the following table are neutral tones.

ma 妈妈 ye 爷爷 nǎinai 奶奶 ba 爸爸
ge 哥哥 wa 娃娃 jiějie 姐姐 mèimei 妹妹
zhuōzi 桌子 fángzi 房子 běnzi 本子 jìngzi 镜子
jīnzi 金子 yínzi 银子 zǎoshang 早上 dìshang 地上
dīngzi 钉子 miánhua 棉花 yǐngzi 影子 yànzi 燕子

 

(Source: www.chineselearner.com)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 150

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
 
 

                          Click to Watch Video Podcast

  (4月17日播出)

  韩佳: 快乐学汉语,万里海疆行!

  Learn Chinese the fun way and enjoy

  a Happy Journey across China!

  大家好,我是快乐的韩佳。

  Hi, I’m Merry Han Jia.

  王渊源:我是快乐的渊源。

  And I’m Happy Yuanyuan.

  韩佳: 我们在台州温岭市的

  We’re saying hello to you here

  长屿硐天向您问好。

  at the Changyu Stone Cave

  in the city Wenling.

  王渊源:韩佳,你说错了吧?

  Han Jia, did you get it wrong?

  这儿明明写的是“双门”。

  It’s clearly written “Double Gate”.

  韩佳: 双门硐。

  The Double-Gate Stone Cave.

  这儿是长屿硐天的一个部分。

  Here it is only one part of

  Changyu Stone Cave.

  整个长屿硐天啊

  The entire Changyu Stone Cave

  总面积有16.18平方公里。

  is 16.8 square kilometers in area.

  已经有一千五百多年的历史了。

  It has a history of more than

  1500 years now.

  是一处规模很大的人工采石景观。

  It’s a large quarry-site tourist attraction.

  王渊源:哦,原来是这么回事。

  Oh, I see.

  可是这石字旁的“硐”

  What does the word “dong”

  又是什么意思呢?

  with the side “shi” mean?

  韩佳: 这石字旁的“硐”

  The word “dong” with the side “shi”

  和三点水旁的“洞”呢

  and the word “dong” with

  the side “氵”

  意思很相近。

  have similar meanings.

  只不过它专门是用来指

  But “dong” only refers to

  山洞、窑洞、还有矿坑等等,

  a mountain cave, a kiln or

  a mining pit,

  都是跟石头有关的。

  all related with rock or stone.

  那我们现在呢已经不太常用了。

  However, it’s no longer in

  frequent use.

  王渊源:那看来咱们今天要看的又是石景喽?

  So today we’re going to see some

  rock scenery again, right?

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yes.

  旁白: 渊源说的没错儿。

  Yuanyuan was right.

  今天要看的还是石景。

  Today we’ll be seeing rock

  scenery again.

  那咱们马上要去的观夕硐呢,

  The Guanxi Cave we’re going

  to see right now

  则是双门硐景区

  is a group of caves that are

  considered the most

  乃至整个长屿硐天中

  magnificent in the Shuangmen

  Cave Scenic Area

  最雄伟的一处石硐群。

  and even in the entire Changyu

  Cave Scenic Area.

  它总共有大小石硐三百四十八个。

  It has a total of 348 caves, big

  and small.

  最大的石硐有一百多米高呢。

  The largest stone cave is

  100 meters in height.

  韩佳: 渊源,

  Yuanyuan,

  这里呢就是观夕硐的九曲含珠桥。

  here it is the Jiuqu Hanzhu Bridge

  of the Guanxi Cave.

  王渊源:哎,我觉得这儿

  Eh, I find it

  和咱们昨天去过的锦绣黄岩也差不多呀。

  quite similar to Huangyan, the place

  we visited yesterday.

  韩佳: 对啊。

  Yes.

  它们都是采石遗迹嘛。

  They are both sites of

  old quarries.

  不过你在这里一定会有新的发现。

  But here you’ll definitely find

  some of the differences.

  王渊源:我好像已经发现了一个。

  I seem to have found one.

  我来试试。

  Let me have a try.

  韩佳: 好啊,怎么样啊?

  Well, what do you think?

  推不动啊?

  You can’t move it?

  这个球虽然是个空心球,

  Although it is a hollow ball

  不是很重,

  and not very heavy,

  但推起来呢也得用巧劲儿。

  if you want to move it, you need

  to have the right touch.

  王渊源:巧劲儿?

  ”Qiaojinr”?

  韩佳: 嗯。“巧劲儿”就是指巧妙的手法,

  Yeah. “Qiaojinr” means a knack

  既省力又有效。

  or the right touch.

  王渊源:哦,“巧劲儿”就是指巧妙的手法,

  Yeah, “qiaojinr” means a knack

  既省力又有效。

  or the right touch.

  Yào xiǎng tuī dong zhège qiú děi yòng qiǎo jìnr

  要 想 推 动 这个 球 得 用 巧 劲儿。

  If you want to move this ball, you must

  have the right touch.

  那好,韩佳你倒是来示范一下

  Okay, Han Jia, you demonstrate

  to us

  这个巧劲儿该怎么用啊。

  how to have the right touch.

  韩佳: 看来啊

  It doesn’t seem

  这个巧劲儿也不是那么好找的。

  so easy to find the right touch.

  渊源,

  Yuanyuan,

  这里就是长屿硐天的一绝,

  here’s one of the unique spectacles

  of the Changyu Cave,

  天下悬空井!

  the Suspended Well under Heaven!

  王渊源:哎,这口井怎么没有井壁啊!

  Eh, why, this well doesn’t

  have a wall!

  韩佳: 绝就绝在这里啊。

  That’s why it’s unique.

  正因为这口井没有井壁,

  Just because it doesn’t

  have a wall,

  所以人们才管它叫悬空井。

  it’s called a suspended well.

  王渊源:这种井我还真是头一回看到。

  This is the first time I have

  ever seen this kind of well.

  真是挺绝的。

  It is really unique.

  韩佳: 你看,从这里往下看,

  Look down below,

  下面有一个水潭。

  there is even a pool down there.

  里面的石雕青蛙呀

  And the sculptured frog in there

  就好像坐在井底一样。

  looks like one sitting at

  the bottom of the well.

  王渊源:哎,这不正好是成语嘛?

  Oh, isn’t this an idiom

  you’re talking about?

  韩佳: 对啊,“坐井观天”

  Yeah, “zuo jing guan tian”

  那这个成语的意思是说,

  is an idiom, which means that

  坐在井底的青蛙以为天空

  a frog sitting at the bottom

  of a well believes

  只有它所看到的井口那么大。

  the sky is as small as the

  mouth of the well.

  比喻人的眼界狭小,

  It is used as a metaphor for

  a narrow view of things

  见识不广。

  or limited experience.

  王渊源:这其实也是一个寓言故事。

  This is actually a fable.

  “坐井观天”字面意思是说

  ”Zuo jing guan tian” literally means

  坐在井底看天空。

  to sit at the bottom of a well

  and look at the sky.

  比喻人的眼界狭小,见识不广。

  It’s similar to saying in English

  that someone has tunnel vision.

  韩佳: 嗯。那这个成语

  Yes. This idiom

  也可以说成是“井底之蛙”。

  means the same as “jing di zhi wa” -

  a frog at the bottom of a well.

  王渊源:节目还没结束呢,

  Our program hasn’t ended yet,

  怎么就开始放主题歌呀?

  why is our theme song being

  played now?

  韩佳: 渊源,你别急。

  Yuanyuan, take it easy.

  声音啊是从那儿传过来的?

  Where does the sound come from?

  王渊源:真是没想到会在这儿听到我们

  I never imagined I could

  hear the theme song of

  “万里海疆快乐行”的主题歌呀!

  our Happy Journey across China here!

  嘉宾: 知道你们要来,

  As we knew you would

  come here,

  所以我们已经提前排练过了。

  we rehearsed the song in advance.

  韩佳: 真的,谢谢。

  Really? Many thanks.

  嘉宾: 没关系。

  You are welcome.

  王渊源:谢谢。

  Many thanks.

  可是,我没看到什么音响设备啊!

  But why, I didn’t see any

  audio equipment!

  嘉宾: 因为这是自然岩洞音乐厅,

  As this is a natural rock-cave

  music hall,

  不管你在哪个角落,

  no matter where you are

  in here,

  都能感受到立体声般的效果。

  you’ll feel the stereo sound effects.

  王渊源:哦,那这是为什么呀?

  Oh, why?

  韩佳: 你看这岩洞音乐厅呢

  You see this rock-cave music hall

  成一个倒三角形。

  is shaped like an inverted pyramid.

  上面有一个很大的穹顶,

  The large curved ceiling

  声波在这里经过多次反射之后,

  can echo a sound a number

  of times.

  传到人的耳朵里时,

  So when you hear it,

  人们听到的就是一种自然的立体声。

  it is a natural stereo sound.

  还有,岩壁上有很多

  Besides, the many holes

  以前人们采石时

  left by quarry workers

  用钢钎凿过的小洞,

  in the surrounding rock faces

  它们能起到消除杂音的作用。

  have the function of absorbing noises.

  王渊源:这倒是挺少见的呀!

  This is really rare!

  “少见”就是不常见的意思,

  ”Shaojian” means seldom seen,

  形容很特别、很稀罕。

  unique or rare.

  Zhèyang de yándòng yīnyuètīng díque hěn shǎojiàn

  这样 的 岩洞 音乐厅 的确 很 少见。

  It’s really quite rare to see a concert

  hall like this in a cave.

  既然这样的自然立体声

  Since the stereo sound

  不是哪儿都能听到的,

  can’t be heard anywhere else,

  那我们就带观众朋友们

  let’s take our audience

  再去领略一下

  to get a glimpse of

  这岩洞音乐的美妙之处吧。

  the charm of this cave concert hall.

  赏心悦目:

  长屿硐天位于温岭市区的东北部

  The Changyu Stone Cave is located

  in northeastern Wenling City.

  历史悠久 风光迷人

  With a long history, the place boasts

  beautiful scenery.

  空阔的岩洞里 仙乐飘飘

  In the spacious caves, sounds echo

  like music.

  高峻的山体内 洞天处处

  There are many tall caves inside the mountain.

  这里有美丽的传说

  There are beautiful legends here.

  这里好似一曲美妙的乐章

  The place is like a fairyland.

  韩佳: 渊源,渊源!

  Yuanyuan, Yuanyuan!

  王渊源:啊,怎么了?

  Yeah, what?

  韩佳: 这赏心悦目都结束了。

  The Feast for the Eyes is

  already over.

  你是不是应该…

  Do you think you should …

  王渊源:哦,我知道。

  Oh, I know.

  有奖问答题嘛。

  It’s the award-winning question.

  大家先休息一下啊。

  Everybody take a break first.

  韩佳: 嘿,还真把自己当指挥了!

  Huh, he really thinks he is

  the conductor!

  (问题部分略)

  王渊源:别忘了明天同一时间,

  And don’t forget to continue

  with our

  继续和我们一起“万里海疆快乐行”。

  Happy Journey across China at

  the same time tomorrow.

  韩佳: 当然了,也别忘了我们的口号。

  And of course, don’t forget

  our slogan.

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

  Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

  王渊源:我还没开始指挥呢,

  I haven’t started conducting yet

  你们怎么就开始演奏呢。

  and they have already started playing.

         (Source: cctv.com)