muyongshi Posted December 1, 2007 at 02:15 PM Report Posted December 1, 2007 at 02:15 PM That would be called a ballast... Quote
muyongshi Posted December 4, 2007 at 01:40 PM Report Posted December 4, 2007 at 01:40 PM 作茧自缚 You make your own cocoon....basically you if you dig a pit you will fall into it. You will reap the consequences of your own actions... 1 Quote
roddy Posted December 7, 2007 at 02:58 AM Author Report Posted December 7, 2007 at 02:58 AM 卫冕 - weìmiǎn, to defend a title - ie in sports And a sneaky addition to make up for all the missed days: 同位素, tóngweìsù, isotope 致癌物质, zhìaíwùzhì, carcinogen Quote
Lu Posted December 25, 2007 at 12:59 PM Report Posted December 25, 2007 at 12:59 PM Reviving it for this gem: 府城 Fu3cheng2 another name for Tainan (the city in southern Taiwan). Who would have guessed. Quote
chenpv Posted December 25, 2007 at 04:46 PM Report Posted December 25, 2007 at 04:46 PM Reminds me of '城府'，a word to describe someone 'shrewd' in a negative way. Quote
heifeng Posted December 27, 2007 at 09:01 AM Report Posted December 27, 2007 at 09:01 AM 撕票：si1piao4: to kill a hostage or a person kidnapped/held for ransom. (here) oh yeah it's from 重案六组...which, fyi, is not a good soap opera for curing insomnia since it opens up a bag of worms...or new randomly interesting words Quote
roddy Posted January 2, 2008 at 02:18 AM Author Report Posted January 2, 2008 at 02:18 AM 蟹脐 xièqí - the underside of a crab. Quote
heifeng Posted January 2, 2008 at 03:46 AM Report Posted January 2, 2008 at 03:46 AM 蟹脐 xièqí - the underside of a crab hhaha how cute...kinda like the crab's "肚脐" （belly button）....sounds like a random word that I'll remember:mrgreen: Quote
Lu Posted January 3, 2008 at 07:26 AM Report Posted January 3, 2008 at 07:26 AM 冒昧 mao4mei4, an even more polite and formal way of saying mafan ni/bu hao yisi. And one I should probably have known already: 化解 hua4jie3 reconcile (for example between fighting political parties that should work together. Fat chance :-) ) Quote
roddy Posted January 3, 2008 at 07:36 AM Author Report Posted January 3, 2008 at 07:36 AM 骨灰级 - gǔhuījí hard-core, as in hard-core gamer. I think, only seen it the once. Quote
Mike Posted January 3, 2008 at 02:49 PM Report Posted January 3, 2008 at 02:49 PM 护链板 - hu4 lian4 ban3 - protect chain board - Chain Guard! The metal cover over a bicycle chain to stop trousers getting oily. Talking about oil - 加油 - jia1 you2 - oil, lubricate - (as in 'fill the tank' - 给车加油) but also means... 加油！ 加油！ - Go! Go! or Come on ! Come on! Quote
roddy Posted January 4, 2008 at 01:37 AM Author Report Posted January 4, 2008 at 01:37 AM 见分晓 - jiànfēnxiǎo, to become clear, of results in a game, election, etc. From the BBC's Chinareel. Quote
skylee Posted January 4, 2008 at 03:01 PM Report Posted January 4, 2008 at 03:01 PM 骨灰级 - gǔhuījí hard-core, as in hard-core gamer. I think, only seen it the once This is such a strange term ... I had to search on the internet to get what it means. 骨灰级指伴随一款游戏从游戏开始发行到全盛再到出现逐渐被其他游戏取代的趋势经历起数代的改变依然是该游戏忠实玩家的级别近于"铁杆球迷"这种级别 I guess it is not commonly used, right? Quote
lzhang Posted January 4, 2008 at 11:37 PM Report Posted January 4, 2008 at 11:37 PM Actually, "骨灰级" is a widely used in youth, especially those who play with Video game or who like "冲浪" on Internet. I think it is like what American boy say:"super-duper..." Quote
Lu Posted January 5, 2008 at 07:22 AM Report Posted January 5, 2008 at 07:22 AM 廓然大公 Kuo4 Ran2 da4gong1 completely open and transparent, not keeping anything hidden. Seems to be a rather obscure term, none of my Chinese coworkers knew it. Fortunately there is google. Quote
roddy Posted January 5, 2008 at 01:48 PM Author Report Posted January 5, 2008 at 01:48 PM 斗篷, dǒupeng, cape or cloak. Dict.cn also has mantle, which I now learn is a short cape, usually a symbol of power or authority, ie within the church, and figuratively as in "To whom, then, will her mantle pass?" I didn't know that. I don't know what I thought a mantle was. So there you go, two random words for the price of one. Re: 骨灰级, I don't know how common it is, but I've only come across it the once and ended up at the same page as you, Skylee, trying to figure out what it meant. Quote
YangDizi Posted January 6, 2008 at 06:29 AM Report Posted January 6, 2008 at 06:29 AM My favourite word to share is [POP=guānmén dìzǐ]关门弟子／關門弟子[/POP], meaning the final disciple to be accepted by a master (of [POP=wǔshù (martial arts)]武术／武術[/POP], [POP=xiāngshēng (“cross talk”; comic dialogue)]相声／相聲[/POP] or such like); after which the master will not be accepting any more disciples to study under him. It is a simple word but elegantly expresses the idea. Quote
roddy Posted January 7, 2008 at 10:54 AM Author Report Posted January 7, 2008 at 10:54 AM 失传, shīchuán, to die out - a language, art, skill, etc. From an interview with someone who's trying to save Man language Quote
Lu Posted January 8, 2008 at 09:34 AM Report Posted January 8, 2008 at 09:34 AM 管麵 or 筆管麵 (bi3)guan3 mian4 penne (pasta variety that is easier to eat than spagetti). From ordering in dinner. In the same category: difficult to eat is not 難吃 (that would be not tasty), but 吃起來有點困難. Quote
gougou Posted January 8, 2008 at 09:49 AM Report Posted January 8, 2008 at 09:49 AM difficult to eat is not 難吃 (that would be not tasty)That comes too late for me, but maybe it helps somebody else... Quote
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