Archive for December 11th, 2008

Chinese Characters: bug (insect):虫

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

bug (insect):

Chinese Pinyin: chong2

(Source: about.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 287

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

与太空旅行相比,时间旅行很显然是一个更为复杂的命题。简而言之,爱因斯坦的观点就是,宇宙中每一物体都有其自身的“时间”,并随其运动的不同而不同。物体运动越快,其时间越慢(与运动较慢的物体相比而言)。最极端的假设是,如果一个物体运动达到光速,那么其时间就会完全停止。但无论一个物体或者一个人的时间为何,它只能参照其它物体才能得以体现。换句话说,万物皆相对

Time travel is clearly a trickier proposition than space travel, though. Put simply, Einstein’s idea was that every object in the universe has it’s own “time”, and these vary as objects move. The faster an object moves, the slower its time is, compared to the time of a slower moving object. The extreme situation would be if an object could move as fast as the speed of light, its time would be completely halted. But whatever an object–or person’s–time is, it’s only evident in contrast to other objects. In other words, it’s all relatives.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 169

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Y: It’s dental care week here in the Chinese Studio, welcome in everyone. Wo shi Y.
B: Da jia hao, wo shi B. My teeth are in tiptop order thanks to our great dentist. And you know Y, how about a return trip for a final check up and clean?
Y: Well, well, well, times do change, I had to drag you there the other day, and now you want to go back. I’ll never understand you guys.
B: The key is not to try too hard Y, different story with our keywords though.
Y: That’s something we do see eye to eye on, and here they are.

Key words of the day
I’ve got a loose tooth 我有颗牙松了。My gums are swollen. 我的牙龈肿了I’d like a clean and polish. 我想洗牙 Rinse the mouth. 漱一下口. All in today’s Chinese Studio

B: It’s always nerve-wracking when we’ve got teeth problems. Luckily mine are over for the moment. But let’s prepare for worst case scenarios. How would we tell the dentist, I’ve got a loose tooth?
Y: We already know what tooth is, ya2, so the whole sentence is: wo2 you3 ke1 ya2 song1 le.
B:  wo2 you3 ke1 ya2 song1 le.
Y: you3 means have,
B: you3,
Y: ke1, as we mentioned, is the measure word for tooth. Here it means one tooth,
B: ke1,
Y: song1 means loose,
B: song1,
Y: wo2 you3 ke1 ya2 song1 le.
B: wo2 you3 ke1 ya2 song1 le.  I’ve got a loose tooth.

Conversation 1
A: 我有颗牙松了。
B: 嘴张大点, 让我看看。

B: Sometimes it’s not our teeth where the problem is, but the gums, what do we call those Y?
Y: we call those: ya2 yin2.
B: ya2 yin2
Y: yin2 means gum,
B: yin2,
Y: ya2 yin2,
B: ya2 yin2, gums. And to say, my gums are swollen?
Y: you can say: wo3 de ya2 yin2 zhong3 le.
B: wo3 de ya2 yin2 zhong3 le.
Y: wo3 de means mine,
B: wo3 de,
Y: ya2 yin2 means gum,
B: ya2 yin2
Y: zhong3 means swollen,
B: zhong3,
Y: wo3 de ya2 yin2 zhong3 le
B: wo3 de ya2 yin2 zhong3 le. My gums are swollen.

Conversation 2
A: 大夫,我的牙龈肿了。
B: 我先给你消肿,然后再拔牙。

B: Now that covers most of the common problems, but while we’re here Y, I’d like a real good clean and polish. How can I tell the dentist, or dental nurse that?
Y: wo2 xiang3 xi3 ya2.
B: wo2 xiang3 xi3 ya2. 
Y: wo2 xiang3 means I want something,
B: wo2 xiang3,
Y: xi3 means to clean and polish,
B: xi3,
Y: ya2 is tooth,
B: ya2,
Y:  wo2 xiang3 xi3 ya2
B:  wo2 xiang3 xi3 ya2, I’d like a clean and polish.

Conversation 3
A: 我想洗牙。你觉得呢?
B: 可以呀,但一定要注意卫生。

B: After cleaning my teeth, the dentist asks me to rinse my mouth. What’s that in Chinese Y?
Y: I think the dentist said: shu4 yi2 xia4 kou3.
B: shu4 yi2 xia4 kou3
Y: shu4 kou3 means to rinse your mouth, 
B: shu4 kou3,
Y: shu4 yi2 xia4 kou3.
B: shu4 yi2 xia4 kou3, rinse the mouth Y: Hey B, do you mind, I don’t have my sunglasses today, can you flash that smile a bit later.
B: Ok, just checking out that teeth polishing job, bu cuo, not bad, even if I say so myself.
Y: And our question today is for when our listeners need the same service, remind us how to say, “gum” in Chinese.
B: We’d love get your answer. Send it in an email to Chinese@crifm.com. Mingtian jian.
Y: Mingtian jian.

(Source:english.cri.cn)