Random new word of the day

[Lu]

One for the 'makes perfect sense' category: 沘, Bǐ, the name of a river in Yunnan.

In that same category, Yunnan also features 洱海湖, pronounced just as you expect.

 

Today I learned:

血小板 xuèxiǎobǎn blood platelets

肾 shèn kidneys

肝 gān liver (ok I already knew that one)

抽血 chōuxuè (or was it chōuxuě) take blood sample

肌酸酐 jīsuāngān creatinin (the higher it is in your blood, the worse your kidneys are working)

 

So I have this friend, she's in the hospital and her parents don't speak anything but Chinese so they asked me to interpret.

[heifeng]

In that case, FYI, Here is another good term to know then:

 

肾小球滤过率 GFR: Glomerular Filtration Rate

 

But I also see it as:

 

肾丝球滤过率 GFR: Glomerular Filtration Rate

[heifeng]

bookmarked a few on my phone while reading....let's see here:

 

 

1. 名媛： 名媛 míng yuán young lady of note / debutante

Ex：  名媛帕里斯身穿度假风长裙现身，头戴花朵装饰发饰，度假装扮十分清新。

Source 

 

2. 松糕鞋： 鬆糕鞋 sōng gāo xié platform shoes

Ex: “上海电视节视后”陈数一身靓装现身街头。陈数身穿吕燕品牌Comme Moi浅蓝色长袖翻领套裙，腰系棕色腰带，手提Alexander McQueen黑色手袋，脚踩Stella McCartney银色松糕鞋，OL装扮就该如此，简约时髦又知性。

Source

[roddy]

下脚料 - leftover bits and pieces....

松糕鞋 is brilliant. 

[dwq]

飲水思源 yǐn shuǐ sī yuán

When you drink water, think of where it comes from

Originally meaning one should have gratitude for the source of one's benefit, this phrase become trendy in Hong Kong when a Legislative Council member used it to chide people who complain about the Hong Kong government continuing to buy fresh water from the mainland.

Recently, it is discovered that lead content in tap water at several housing estates in Hong Kong is over health standard limit. Several newspapers used 飲水思鉛 ("When you drink water, consider its lead content") in their headlines (note: 源 yuán and 鉛 qiān has the same pronunciation in Cantonese).

[skylee]

花生友 - 剝花生看熱鬧的人

[skylee]

施黛 - put on makeup (literally paint the eyebrows)

The caption of an exhibition says, “漢代貴族婦女對梳妝也甚為講究，施黛成風……“ and the English version goes, "Noble women of Han were particular about their appearance, thus makeup was all the rage."

[Demonic_Duck]

In that same category, Yunnan also features 洱海湖, pronounced just as you expect.

...ěr měi hú?

[陳德聰]

花生友 - 剝花生看熱鬧的人

The connection here with "peanut gallery" did not pop into my head when I first saw this post but it did just now. Although they are not the same type of term at all, it is interesting that there is a certain element there that converges, and that peanuts are used for both. I have not found an etymological explanation for 花生友 but I am interested now.

[skylee]

Because peanuts used to be the cheapest snack for people watching a show.

[geraldc]

柴可夫 to mean driver.

 

It's basically Tchaikovsky without the last 2 characters 斯基, as it sounds the same as driver 司機

 

Reminded me of  cockney rhyming slang.

[adoke36]

There was news a couple days ago about mercury in the flu vaccines. I would have guessed it came from that. For some words, this would make a good game: after revealing a random word, other people could guess where you came across it.

[adoke36]

You're not the only one, man. They took me a while to learn to read, and it's still at the point where sometimes I'll be pumped when I find out I got one right, if it's not so common-looking.

[muyongshi]

So, this was a very new one for me and I hope I'm getting it right:

村 adj meaning rustic

Somebody was describing a loaf of artisan bread and said it was 很村

[Lu]

拟声词 nǐshēngcí onomatopoea

Found when checking an article on this thing in Chinese. In the 'that makes perfect sense' category.

[Geiko]

My random new word of the day is 仙人掌 - cactus. Does anybody know its etymology? I wish I could put it in that "makes perfect sense" category...

[Guest realmayo]

if https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%99%E4%BA%BA%E6%8E%8C is correct:

 

仙人 ("immortal" since cacti are resistant to harsh weather and live a long time) + 掌 ("palm", since some cacti resemble hands)

 

However someone on baidu http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/22974146.html reckons it was originally a life-saving plant given to a young chap by an immortal; a nasty emperor wanted the plant and when he reached out to touch it it grew spikes which hurt his hand; he ate it anyway and it killed him; because it has leaves like a hand palm and was given by an immortal, so it gets that name.

[Geiko]

Wow, thank you, realmayo! It makes much more sense now, and it will be easier to remember the word in future occasions!

[wushucrab20]

讣告 fugao 44  , obituary. I came across this word for the first time today.

 

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/special-chinese/2382-2015-12-07

[skylee]

Re #1819 above, 訃告 = 訃聞.