fly train fly!

I have a few years head start on Mandarin over my daughter but lately we are both learning the same way: by hearing children's songs.

We both like trains, and now we have an appropriate song to sing: 火車快飛 (Fly Train, Fly!)

Actually, here's another word that could go into Kaitlyn's post a few days ago about word origins. 火車 literally translated is "fire car." Even though there are hardly any steam engines, the word still evokes images of a coal-fired boiler powering freight down the valley.

But, back to the song:

火車快飛

火車快飛　火車快飛
穿過高山　飛過小溪
不知跑了幾百里
搭到家裏　搭到家裏
媽媽看見真歡喜

Even for a kids song there are some intermediate grammar points here. 過 (guò)is a tough concept for me. Like 會 (huì), it doesn't really have an exact translation to english, but in this case 穿過高山 (chuān'guò gāo shān) means to pass through a tall mountain, and 飛過小溪 (fēi guò xiǎo xī) means to speed past a creek.

The textbooks say 過 means the action happened in the past but has bearing on the present. I guess the train has to traverse these features (the mountain, the creek) in order to finally take the passengers home.

Chinese Mouth Radical

Once I started reading Chinese children books and singing Chinese songs to my daughter I realized the mouth radical 口 appears a lot. It looks like a square.

Here's one example:
嘿(T/S) [hēi] has the 口 radical with the 黑 hēi character. (黑 means black). Putting the two together you get 嘿. The radical gives you a clue of what it sounds like. In this case it is 'hey.'

Here are more examples:

• 哼(T/S) [heng] grunting  example:"哼，好吧" (grunt. Ok fine) 
• 哇 (T/S) [wā]    wow 
• 可 kě, kè chuckling  example:可可可 (*chuckles*)

Back to the beginning. Remember when I said I noticed this radical while reading Chinese books and singing Chinese songs? Don't use these types of vocal expressions in essays. Think about it, you don't want to write to your mom or teacher by writing LOL, ROFL!  Keep in mind who you are writing to. If you are texting your friend that is another matter.

Zon

Imagine you can go to China or Taiwan and spend time any amount of time to practice your Chinese. Um, you don't have the time, money, or resources?

Enter the online game, Zon.
It is a virtual environment for one to learn Chinese. I didn't get a chance to play with it yet. But watching the video I see some pros and cons

Pros
Interactive way to explore a virtual space and learn Chinese
Use of video and game to make learning fun
It is free!

Cons
Looks like only simplified Chinese is supported
May be good for beginners but not intermediate to expert people. I am interested in seeing how advance the vocabulary is.

I can't wait to try it out and report back.

Interesting Chinese Phrases That involves Blind Cat and Ants

瞎貓撞到死老鼠 (T)
瞎猫撞到死老鼠 (S)
[Xiā māo zhuàng dào sǐ lǎoshǔ]

A blind cat runs into a dead rat. What do you think this phrase means in Chinese? Is this good or bad? Cats like to show that they can catch a rat!

The phrase means lucky. Look! I'm blind but I can still contribute and catch a rat! I'm told a similar phrase in English is "even a blind squirrel can find an acorn one in a while."

熱鍋上的螞蟻(T)
热锅上的蚂蚁(S)
[Rè guō shàng de mǎyǐ]

Ants on a hot pan. Strange to picture this, but can you figure out the meaning. If you were an ant on a hot pan, what is your feeling? I'm going to die here! Yes! How does that make you feel? Probably not so good. You will probably be running in all directions trying to figure out a way to escape! This phrase means anxious, nervous, and running in all directions.

Origin of words

I saw a post that the phrase "muffin top" have been added to the Oxford English dictionary. In case you don't know it is that excess flab of skin around the waist. The addition of this new phrase made me think about the origin of Chinese words.

How did some words even get started? If you are familiar with Chinese, you may already know that some characters were based on pictographs. Wikipedia has a good list of some of the characters.

Then there's words or phrases that made me wonder who thought of that. Here is my list:

bicycle 自行車 (T) 自行车(S) [zìxíngchē]
Direct Translation: self operated car

kangaroo 袋鼠 (T/S) [dàishǔ]
Direct Translation: pouch rat

giraffe 長頸鹿(T) 长颈鹿(S) [chángjǐnglù]
Direct Translation: long neck deer

owl 貓頭鷹(T) 猫头鹰(S) [māotóuyīng]
Direct Translation: cat head eagle

computer 電腦(T) 电脑(S) [diànnǎo]
Direct Translation: electric brain

telephone 電話(T) 电话(S) [diànhuà]
Direct Translation: electric spoken word

taxi 出租汽車(T) 出租汽车(S) [chūzū qìchē]
Direct Translation: to rent car

diaper 尿布[T/S) [niàobù]
Direct Translation: to urinate cloth

Multiple Meanings Of The Verb To Allow

Have you every thought about the verb, to allow?  How do you use it in English? Do you use it in a positive context such as "I allow her to drive the car." Or do you use it in a negative context, "She is young, but I allowed her to drive the car." Does either of these two sentences imply anything to you?


The second sentence has the word "but" in there. So you know  the speaker doesn't want to let the girl drive the car by herself. In Chinese if you can leave out the "but" and have  the verb to allow: 讓(T) 让(S) [ràng] the audience knows the speaker may be implying s/he didn't want the event to occur.


For example:
她小， 我讓她開車。(T)
她小， 我让她开车。(S)
tā xiǎo, wǒ ràng tā kāichē
She's young, I allow her to drive the car.


I find it interesting to allow in Chinese has other meanings. It can mean to yield or to permit.  In English, we don't use yield, permit, and allow interchangeably.

Children Song: Little Mouse

I have a 20 month old daughter. Sometimes we listen to Chinese children songs. Here's one song in particular that I sing to her and I was wondering about the lyrics.

(T)
小老鼠, 上燈台
偷吃油, 下不來。
喵喵喵, 貓來啦
嘰哩哩滾下來。


(S)
小老鼠, 上燈台
偷吃油, 下不来。
喵喵喵, 猫来啦
叽哩哩滚下来。

[pingyin]
Xiǎo lǎoshǔ, shàng dēngtái
Tōu chī yóu, xià bù lái.
Miāo miāo miāo, māo lái lā,
jīlili gǔn xiàlái.

Translation
Little mouse goes up on the lamp stand.
He steals the oil, cannot come down.
Miao Miao Miao (sound), the cat comes
JiLiLi (sound), the mouse falls down.

Everything here makes sense to me till the oil part. Why is there oil at the lamp? After some searching, I found that before electric lamps, oil lamps existed. Now it seems obvious, but I didn't realize it. Oil was an alternate fuel source. Oil can be olive oil (Mediterranean cultures), whale oil, castor oil (ancient Egyptians), carrot oil, peanut oil (Africa), and ghee (India). I guess one day I will explain to my daughter what a manual typewriter is.

I like Chinese Food

I like Chinese food. Simple phrase, right? Sometimes I open up learn Chinese textbook I see

Version One: 我喜歡中國飯 (T)/ 我喜欢中国饭 (S)/ wǒ xǐhuan Zhōngguó fàn
Direct Translation: I live Chinese rice.

not

Version Two: 我喜歡中國菜 (T)/我喜欢中国菜 (S)/ wǒ xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài
Direct Translation: I like Chinese meals.

So what is going on here? Is the textbook outdated and it doesn't follow the hip and modern everyday speak? I ask my teacher, Professor Liu. I believe he has a good explanation. There was a time when rice is the staple on your table. You will always have rice with a meal. Vegetables and meat dishes are more expensive and can be a luxury for some families. As our society advances our standard of living goes up. Rice doesn't have to be part of the meal to fill us up anymore. You look forward to the dishes serve.

To Help

幫忙 (T) / 帮忙 (S) [bāngmáng] and 幫助 (T) / 帮助 (S) [bāngzhù] means to help in Mandarin. However they are used differently.

Let us analyze the sentence "I help my mother"

• Version One: 幫忙 (T) / 帮忙 (S) [bāngmáng]

Grammatically, 幫忙 (T) / 帮忙 (S) [bāngmáng] is used in a verb + object structure.
我 幫 媽媽 忙 (T)

我 帮 妈妈 忙 (S)

wǒ bāng māma máng

verb = 幫忙 (T) / 帮忙 (S) [bāng máng] /help
object = 媽媽 (T)/ 妈妈 (S) [māma] / mother

• Version Two: 幫助 (T) / 帮助 (S) [bāngzhù]

Grammatically, 幫助 (T) / 帮助 (S) [bāngzhù] is a vocabulary word used together. You may not separate it.
我 幫 助 媽媽 (T)
我 帮 助 妈妈 (S)
wǒ bāng zhù māma



So why would you use version one versus version two? Is the meaning interchangeable? No it is not. The meaning of 助 (T/S) [zhù] is to assist or to support. If you use version two you have a supporting role. You may buy groceries and do some errands here and there, but your mom will be able to finish her task with or without you. On the other hand in version one your mom is extremely busy and your help is crucial in her finishing her task. Got it? Great.

Excuse Me, May I Borrow Your Light?

借光 [jièguāng] means "excuse me." But the literal translation is "to borrow light" in Chinese.
I'm paraphrasing an old story here:

Imagine two houses very close together. In each house lives a young girl. Julia lives in the house on the right. Karen lives in the house on the left. One day Karen's parents became ill and can no longer work day to day as shoemakers. Karen wants to help her parents so she works through the night to get things done. However her family cannot afford to have the lights on, so she works in the dark as much as she can. One day she realizes she can use the light that is coming through her neighbor's window to work. Karen does this till Julia realizes what is happening and shuts off that light. Karen goes to Julia and says "Excuse me, may I borrow your light? It is insignificant to you to have that light on, but it means the world to me because I can help my family."

This phrase may be more common: 對不起 (T)/ 对不起 (S)/[duìbuqǐ].
This also means excuse me, but has a underlying meaning. When you said this you are also implying, I have done you wrong - I am beneath you, you are above me in status. Nuances! I now it is hard enough to remember the vocabulary and meaning.