Archive for December 12th, 2008

Chinese Characters: Bulgaria (nation):保加利亚

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Bulgaria (nation):

Chinese Pinyin: bao3 jia1 li4 ya4

(Source: about.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 288

Friday, December 12th, 2008

小君:我从没看过这么多的星星。
莉莎:我从小看到大。那个是猎户座。
小君:仰望满天星辰让我觉得自己好渺小。
莉莎:你还在担心你的工作?
小君:对呀,有一点。我感觉有点漫无目的,像是我不清楚自己下一步要做些什么。
莉莎:走一步算一步。至少这趟旅程很棒,对吧?
小君:(一根羽毛飘落下来)喔,我的天。一根羽毛刚好掉在我身上。
莉莎:哇!也许是个预兆喔。也许所有事情都是事出必有因的。

That night; stargazing on the slopes of Mauna Kea
Jun:I’ve never seen so many stars.
Lisa:I grew up with this. That’s Orion there.
Jun:Looking up at these stars makes me feel so small.
Lisa:You still worrying about your career?
Jun:Yeah, a bit. I feel kind of aimless, like I don’t know what to do next.
Lisa:Take it one step at a time. This has been a good trip though, right?
Jun: [A feather falls] Oh my god. A feather just dropped on me!
Lisa:Wow! Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe things do happen for a reason.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 170

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Y: What’s whiter than white, and shinier than gold?
B: Pass.
Y: Your new tooth of course. Dajia hao, join us in the Chinese Studio, wo shi Y.
B: And wo shi B. While it’s true we have been to visit the dentist this week, Y is exaggerating just a tad. Luckily it’s the weekend again, and we can relive the horror of the last week in a more relaxed state.
Y: Forget the toothache, and let’s concentrate on our sentences of the week.

Sentences of the week
 I’ve got a toothache 我牙疼。I need to see a dentist. 我要看牙医。I don’t want the tooth pulled out. 我不想拔牙Open wide 嘴张大点儿。All in today’s Chinese Studio.

B: Y, although you asked me to forget the toothache, let’s not forget how to say it in Chinese: 
Y: Dui. I’ve got a toothache.Wo3 ya2 teng2.
B: wo3 ya2 teng2. 
Y:  ya2 means tooth,
B: ya2,
Y: teng2 means ache,
B: teng2,
Y: wo3 ya2 teng2
B: wo3 ya2 teng2 I’ve got a toothache.

Conversation 1
A: 大夫,我牙疼。
B: 我看看。。。你有颗蛀牙。

B: So I need to see a dentist
Y: Wo3 yao4 kan4 ya2 yi1.
B: Wo3 yao4 kan4 ya2 yi1
Y: wo3 yao4 means I need to do something, 
B: wo3 yao4,
Y: kan4 means to see,
B: kan4,
Y: ya2 yi1, the dentist,
B: ya2 yi1,
Y: Wo3 yao4 kan4 ya2 yi1
B: Wo3 yao4 kan4 ya2 yi1  I need to see a dentist.

Conversation 2
A: 我要看牙医。需要预约吗?
B: 不需要,直接去就可以了。

B: Time to hop on that torture chair, and I’d like to tell ya2 yi1, the dentist, I don’t want my tooth pulled out.
Y: You could use sign language, but better still, say this, wo3 bu4 xiang3 ba2 ya2.
B: wo3 bu4 xiang3 ba2 ya2.
Y: bu4 xiang3 means don’t want something,
B: bu4 xiang3,
Y: ba2 ya2 means to pull out the tooth,
B: ba2 ya2,
Y: wo3 bu4 xiang3 ba2 ya2.
B: wo3 bu4 xiang3 ba2 ya2.  I don’t want the tooth pulled out.

Conversation 3
A: 我不想拔牙。
B: 没事,不疼的。

B: What’s that the dentist just said?
Y: I’ll repeat it, 嘴张大点.
B: zui3 zhang1 da4 dianer3
Y: zui3 is mouth,
B: zui3,
Y: zhang1 means open,
B: zhang1,
Y: da4 means wide,
B: da4,
Y: dianer3 means a little bit,
B: dianer3,
Y: zui3 zhang1 da4 dianer3
B: zui3 zhang1 da4 dianer3, oh I get, time to open wide.

Conversation 4
A: 大夫,我牙疼。
B: 我看看。。。嘴张大点。

B: Well Y, all’s well that ends well, I started the week looking like Dracula, and now here I am the spitting image of Brad Pitt, complete with his dazzling smile.
Y: I never like spoiling B’s illusions, they’re always so entertaining, I’ll humour you instead Brad, I mean B. Anyway, million dollar smiler, what’s our question of the day?
B: We all like relaxed weekends, so here’s an easy question to fit the bill, how do you say “Open Wide”?
Y: As always, we’d love to get your answer. Send it in an email to Chinese@crifm.com. Have a great weekend.
B: Zhoumo yukuai.

(Source:english.cri.cn)