Random new word of the day

[crazy-meiguoren]

That's an interesting analysis, Trien. My Chinese skills are at a beginner level, and can read only a small number of characters. I can recognize the radicals, and can look up a lot of characters through an index of radicals, and the number of strokes. Or, in the case of my breast cancer post, cheat and use mdbg.net.

Maybe I'm not reading it right, but is the word 品 using the word 口 three times? Is there a significance in that composition? If I seem veering way off course, please be patient. I'm just an old dog trying to learn new tricks...

[crazy-meiguoren]

On another forum, my friends and I have been ranting about telemarketers. I tried to find the word for "telemarketer" in Chinese, but mdbg.net returned nothing. If a country as large as China is so free of telemarketers that they don't have a word for it, I'm tempted to pack my bags and head on over to get a break from these vultures.

However, if sales people do start trying to boost their businesses in China by making cold calls to every possible resident's telephones, we could try to come up with a term that could apply to telemarketers.

Here are my suggestions:

馋涎欲滴

拖累

贪婪... (i wanted to complete the phrase, but I'm trying to keep the language clean... just wanting to put their parentage into question... lol...)

[leeyah]

If a country as large as China is so free of telemarketers that they don't have a word for it, ...

Oh, but they do, and not just one :

telemarketing = 电话销售, 电话营销

telemarketer = 电话销售员, 电话营销员

[renzhe]

寻短见 xúnduǎnjiàn commit suicide

[crazy-meiguoren]

Oh, but they do, and not just one

telemarketing = 电话销售, 电话营销

telemarketer = 电话销售员, 电话营销员

I knew it was too good to be true... mdbg needs to be updated...

[crazy-meiguoren]

妈妈骂马。

女儿也骂马。

[animal world]

Here's a fishy contribution: 镰鱼

This is a ... a ... a ... Moorish Idol (liányú). I got this while browsing through my beloved Chinese hard-copy dictionary.

I had never heard this name and immediately conjured up an image of American Idol perhaps geared for an audience in a place such as Dubai. It turns out the Moorish Idol is indeed a, smallish, fish that resides in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

For the fun of it, I also ran Moorish Idol through one of those dictionary/translation programs and got this: 摩尔人的偶像 Then i also checked with Nciku and Nciku did it right. Hurray for Nciku!

[crazy-meiguoren]

For those who get mad when they are hungry:

Don't get steamed. Try some of these steamed dishes instead:

馒头

年糕

卷子

扣肉

小笼包 (I've been wanting to try this one ever since I've heard about it)

烧卖

蒸糕

[Guoke]

坏水

evil ideas

这人一肚子坏水，跟他交往可得小心点。

这样的女人一肚子坏水，话越少，心眼越多！

[crazy-meiguoren]

This was said to have been really written on a performance review.

他的智商达成五十的时候，他应该买。

[renzhe]

杀伤力

The destructive power of a weapon

When applied to people, it refers to charm, or attractiveness.

[animal world]

杀伤力 The destructive power of a weapon. When applied to people, it refers to charm, or attractiveness.

Somewhat similar to when we say, "dressed to kill, " yes?

[renzhe]

I think that "dressed to kill" refers to some sort of preparation (clothes, make-up, etc.), while 杀伤力 is about a person's intrinsic qualities.

The way I understand it, I'd translate it as "stunning" or posessing "devastating charm", or something.

But I've only heard the phrase yesterday, so I might be wrong.

[BChan]

for example a beautiful female 眼神有杀伤力 expression of eyes can kill

[renzhe]

抑郁 yìyù depression/depressed.

[jbradfor]

这人一肚子坏水，跟他交往可得小心点

This person's belly is evil?

[leeyah]

This person's belly is evil?

metaphor for murky water, something you can't see clearly through, like e.g. a person's character >> "sly", "sneaky", "scheming": 一肚子坏水

[roddy]

Think ‘bile'

准绳, zhǔnshéng - criterion, yardstick.

[animal world]

I have Gato to thank for this one: 钉子户, dīng zi hù, someone who resists eviction. He mentioned this in the thread about the cozy apartment in the midst of a demolition zone with heavy demolition going on right behind the wall where the hapless renters' bed is. Could it get any cozier, one wonders?

[Guest Pipas]

潜水 - to dive (underwater)

and to lurk:

最讨厌潜水的人.