Random new word of the day

[Dlezcano]

雪里红, which is a vegetable that can be marinated. I felt very puzzled the first time I saw it because it isn't red at all, and the sentence was using this vegetable to make a comparison on how greenish the water in a stream was: 山上下来的水像冰一样凉，像腌雪里红一样绿. After checking the word in my dictionary I learned that it is also written 雪里蕻, which seems to be a 生僻字 that only refers to this vegetable.

[Dlezcano]

月经带. A menstruation belt. I never heard about this thing before reading Wang Xiaobo's 《革命时期的爱情》. The main character Wang'er comments he used a menstruation belt to create a slingshot-like weapon and thinks about how useful this thing could have been in Ancient Rome: 我还能想到假如X海鹰的橡皮月经带到了古罗马的投石步兵手里，一定会被视若珍宝。

[Lu]

故世 to die, to pass away

Not to be confused with 故事 (story), 事故 (accident) or 世故 (world-wise). What a fun language this is!

[Dlezcano]

国字脸 "guo" shaped face; a square-shaped face.

[lordsuso]

On 3/27/2024 at 12:53 PM, Dlezcano said:

国字脸 "guo" shaped face; a square-shaped face.

I love words that use hanzi to define shapes like 金字塔，十字路口，人字拖，一字... I didn't know that one!

[roddy]

太妃糖. Almost spent time looking up what the correct term for a 太妃 is...

[Dlezcano]

出恭, to go to the toilet. I asked a few natives and all of them said this word isn't used anymore and could be only found in written text, which is the place I saw it. Here is an excerpt from the novel 城南旧事:

Quote

“你是不是来这里拉屎？”“拉屎？”他睁大了眼睛，“对啦，对啦，我是来出恭的啦！

 

It seems this word has its origin in the imperial exams, when people had to go to the toilet during the test they should take a tablet with 出恭 and 入敬 written on it.

[Dlezcano]

冲喜, arrange a "happy event" (especially a wedding) for a young man that is seriously ill with the hope that he will survive. I found this word in 婚姻的故事. Below is a conversation in this book where they are asking a young woman why she chose to marry an ill man who died one month after the wedding.

 

Quote

“就是嘛，我们结婚才一个月他就死了。”

“是什么病？怎么死得这么快，这么巧？”

“是肺病，老肺病了！”

“那你还和他结婚？”有人替她不甘愿地说。

“就是为了有病，才赶快结婚的呀！”

“哦——”有人明白了，但是有人还不懂，跟着又问：

“为什么呢？“

”是为了冲喜呀！“

 

[Tomsima]

I'm interested in the source for this definition? Presumably 冲洗 refers to developing photographs in this context, so perhaps the reason to get married was "for the photobook (memories)"? Or is it to finish off the whole thing cleanly?

[Jim]

Is it not in some sense of an attempt to "flush away" the ill luck of his sickness? Did a search for 冲洗邪气 and there are examples, e.g.: 古代的洗襟台是什么建筑_建筑吧_百度贴吧 (baidu.com)

[Dlezcano]

Sorry! that was a beginner mistake, I wanted to write 冲喜. I am editing the entry too!

[Tomsima]

i did wonder if it was meant to be 喜, though presumed it might have been a spelling habit published from the era (eg 磁 for today's 瓷)!

[Lu]

反向电渗析 fǎnxiàng diànshènxī  reverse electro-dialysis. Apparently a way to generate renewable energy from sea water, I have to read up on it a bit. Interpreting tomorrow and there's going to be a short bit about a company that does this. Interpreting can introduce one to all kinds of interesting people and interesting things, but it does require some serious homework sometimes...

[Lu]

癫痫 dian1xian2  epilepsy

Something like six years ago I interpreted for the director of a movie about a young woman with epilepsy, so I learned this word, and put it in Anki since it met the requirements of "clear and correct definition" and "I know this word in English so I should really know it in Chinese too". Dutifully kept reviewing it whenever it popped up, expecting to never ever need it again.

Lo and behold, yesterday I was interpreting and the conversation came to Van Gogh. Didn't he have 癫痫, the Chinese VIP asked. I was delighted my knowledge came to use.

 

At some point one is learning words knowing that only something like 3 words of the 50 you're learning will ever come up again, but since you don't know which 3 you need to learn all 50. It was nice to encounter one of the 3.

[Jim]

襁褓 qiǎng bǎo, swaddling clothes; saw it used figuratively to indicate infancy.

[Dlezcano]

耶诞节, Christmas. I guessed it from the context since I never heard this version before. I found it in 三毛's 《撒哈拉的故事》in the following sentence: 耶诞节到了，我们离开沙漠回马德里去看公婆。

[lordsuso]

Another 字 word: 八字胡