Random new word of the day

[imron]

無尾熊 wúwěixióng - koala bear.

Also known on the mainland as 考拉熊 kǎolāxióng, or just 考拉.

[skylee]

Koala is also known as 樹熊 in this part of the world.

PS - I think the names 無尾熊 or 考拉 or 考拉熊 are not used at all here.

[yersi]

Fascinating; HK, Mainland and Taiwan all use different words for Koala bears (無尾熊 is what I've heard used in Taiwan).

Continuing on the bear theme:

虎背熊腰 hǔbèixióngyāo - "the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear": strong and muscular bodybuild.

[heifeng]

i have to actually go run off where I can't go online for a bit, so here is the short explanation of a useful word for your vocabulary:mrgreen::

熊样, xiong2yang4. word to 骂人...as in 瞧你那个熊样..oh and here are more pictures of bears for our ongoing theme...

[Xiwang]

We've all learned 跳舞 (tiàowǔ), which is "to dance." However, as I don't dance, I'm probably more likely to use one of these other more interesting variants (found via Wenlin) in my day-to-day speech:

跳河 (tiàohé) to commit suicide by jumping into a river

跳楼 (tiàolóu) to jump off of a building

[fanglu]

無尾熊 wúwěixióng - koala bear.

You know, until I learned this word I just assumed all bears had no tails

[Lu]

拖拉机 tuo1la1ji1 tractor.

From 黄金时代, which also uses 考拉熊 for koalabear. So it does seem to be in use.

Extra random word:

跳海 tiao4hai3 to commit suicide by jumping into the sea/ocean. Except when you're a Taiwanese DPP legislator who vowed to 跳海 if the DPP lost a certain election, in which case it can turn out to just mean 'to jump into the sea near Kending and swim about for a bit'. (I forgot the name of the legislator, this was about a year ago.)

[randall_flagg]

I completely forgot to quote the passage where I came across the term 光棍堂

Its from a Xianghseng by 张寿臣, the piece is call 天王庙

这老师教了四个学生，在庙里， 那位说，怎么在庙里呀？逢那阵私塾都在庙里，　住家户不成，一早睡早觉，　孩子一年书就爱不了，　庙里就是光棍堂啊。　

I guess the term could be translated as "men's dormitory in a monastery".

To add another random word of the day from this passage:

私塾 private school

[randall_flagg]

跳海 tiao4hai3 to commit suicide

下海 , another interesting 海 related term, several meanings

１．　to go for a swim (when you are at the beach already). Example: Your friends are in the "swimming", e.g. standing around with the water up to their hips and yelling: 你怎么不下呀？

2. (from wenlin) 〈PRC〉 change one's occupation to enter the market economy

--- I think this is mainly associated with the 1980's.

3 . (from wenlin) turn professional (of non-professionals in traditional opera)

[Radial]

Great source for random words... www.shanghaidaily.com/buzzword

[roddy]

丧钟, sāngzhōng, funeral bell or death knell. Certainly not something you should give as a gift.

[randall_flagg]

二头肌弯举 er4tou2ji1 wan1ju3 bicep curls (gym exercise)

[renzhe]

切腹 = harakiri / seppuku, a ritual Samurai suicide

[glock]

智囊团 zhìnángtuán brain trust; think tank

[randall_flagg]

气囊 qi4nang2 airbag

Edited March 1, 2009 at 04:53 PM by randall_flagg

[skylee]

well, 酒囊飯袋 then.

[yersi]

I see your 囊 and raise you a 齉 nàng - stuffy nose.

我鼻子有點齉 - "my nose is a bit stuffy"

[skylee]

and then there is 饢 - Xinjiang flat bread which tastes really good.

[randall_flagg]

Then there is

窝囊 wo1nang5 , which means something like good for nothing

[renzhe]

阴囊 = scrotum

Don't blame me, it was in the BotM