Need Help With Slowchinese Vocab

[roddy]

Maybe it's like the 到 in 聽到 and 看到, then.

I'd say so. The ABC also has a separate entry for 意识到， as it does for 看到，想到。

[jbradfor]

Thanks to all your help, I posted vocab lists for lessons 1-9 over at the other thread.

These are the words I added that were not in MDBG; if you don't like my definition, please object! [And I know there are a couple of traditional forms that aren't correct either, don't worry, I can fix them.]

# Lesson 1

包粽子 包粽子 [bao1 zong4 zi3] /make zongzi/

# Lesson 2

網上聊天 网上聊天 [wang3 shang3 liao2 tian1] /online chat/

網名 网名 [wang3 ming2] /online name (short for 网络名字)/

鳳鳴朝陽 凤鸣朝阳 [feng4 ming2 chao2 yang2] /a saying/

# Lesson 3

看准 看准 [kan1 zhun3] /plan ahead/look for an opportunity/

正菜 正菜 [zheng4 cai4] /main dish/

正餐 正餐 [zheng4 can1] /main part of a meal/

# Lesson 4

給面子 给面子 [gei3 mian4 zi3] /give face/

犯懶 犯懒 [fan4 lan3] /lazy/

長途火車 长途火车 [chang2 tu2 huo3 che1] /long-haul train/

交通工具 交通工具 [jiao1 tong1 gong1 ju4] /modes of transportation/

累人 累人 [lei3 ren2] /tiring/

# Lesson 5

弄清楚 弄清楚 [nong4 qing1 chu3] /to clarify/

在...的基礎上 在...的基础上 [zai4 de5 ji1 chu3 shang3] /taking ... as a start or base/

手掌心 手掌心 [shou3 zhang3 xin1] /palm/center of hand/

說悄悄話 说悄悄话 [shui4 qiao3 qiao3 hua4] /whisper/

张孜 张孜 [zhang1 zi1] /a person's name/

# Lesson 6

意識到 意识到 [yi4 shi2 dao4] /to become aware of/to become conscious of/to realize/

奮起抵抗 奋起抵抗 [fen4 qi3 di3 kang4] /to rise up and resist/

# Lesson 7

肚子餓 肚子饿 [du3 zi3 e4] /to be very hungry/

# Lesson 8

# Lesson 9

商業街 商业街 [shang1 ye4 jie1] /shopping district/

新东安 新东安 [xin1 dong1 an1] /famous shop on 王府井/

工美大厦 工美大厦 [gong1 mei3 da4 sha4] /famous building on 王府井/

涮羊肉 涮羊肉 [shuan4 yang2 rou4] /hot-pot dish consisting of thinly-sliced mutton/

高級賓館 高级宾馆 [gao1 ji2 bin1 guan3] /first-class hotel/

商業活動 商业活动 [shang1 ye4 huo2 dong4] /shopping activity/

冰糖葫蘆 冰糖葫蘆 [bing1 tang2 hu2 lu5] /tanghulu/

Maybe I should stop now. haha

I hope you don't! At least by posting a wrong answer you encourage people to correct you

[Glenn]

Well, if you say so, but I'd rather not go on confusing things.

[skylee]

商業活動 商业活动 [shang1 ye4 huo2 dong4] /shopping activity/

this does not sound right.

[jbradfor]

"Business activity" better? From the context, though, it was discussing shopping, so I went for this translation. The context is 后来，这里外国人越来越多，商业活动也越来越多，这条街就变成了有名的商业街. What would you suggest?

[roddy]

說悄悄話 说悄悄话 [shui4 qiao3 qiao3 hua4] /whisper/

Did you automate the pinyin? There is a shui4 pronunciation of 说, but not here.

[jbradfor]

BUSTED! Yes, I did, and it's often wrong due to the many heterographs in Chinese. I usually catch them, but obviously missed this one. Thanks for the correction!

Later edit: I'm humiliated! I mean heteronyms, of course, not heterographs.

Edited June 10, 2010 at 04:30 AM by jbradfor

[roddy]

Fair enough, removes a lot of the grunt work. Spitting out shui4 there is a pretty poor error though, something like adsotrans might be more reliable.

[jbradfor]

For words that are in MDBG (well, actually in CC-CEDICT, but I consider them one and the same....), I pull the pinyin and def from there. It's only the words that are not in there for which I need to create an entry. [How do I know it's a word if it's not in MDBG? Mostly because it's one of the vocab word provided with the transcript, sometimes it's clearly a proper noun, and every once in a while it seems to be a word to me....] Unfortunately, while MDBG has separate entries for each pronunciation for characters that are heteronyms, they are not listed in any order of frequency, so it's pretty much random which pronunciation gets picked....

[skylee]

"Business activity" better? From the context, though, it was discussing shopping, so I went for this translation. The context is 后来，这里外国人越来越多，商业活动也越来越多，这条街就变成了有名的商业街. What would you suggest?

Take a look ->

http://www.hk.iciba.com/search?s=%E5%95%86%E6%A5%AD%E6%B4%BB%E5%8B%95

http://www.csb.gov.hk/hkgcsb/glossary/glossary_search_en.php?search_name1=%E5%95%86%E6%A5%AD%E6%B4%BB%E5%8B%95&and_or=and&search_name2=&catall=1&cat_code%5B%5D=A%26F&cat_code%5B%5D=Fire&cat_code%5B%5D=P_Health&cat_code%5B%5D=Civil_Service&cat_code%5B%5D=Housing&cat_code%5B%5D=P_Order&cat_code%5B%5D=CEA&cat_code%5B%5D=Immigration&cat_code%5B%5D=S_Welfare&cat_code%5B%5D=Culture&cat_code%5B%5D=IT&cat_code%5B%5D=T_Planning&cat_code%5B%5D=Education&cat_code%5B%5D=Labour&cat_code%5B%5D=Trade_Industry&cat_code%5B%5D=E%26M&cat_code%5B%5D=Medical&cat_code%5B%5D=Transport&cat_code%5B%5D=Environment&cat_code%5B%5D=Meteorology&cat_code%5B%5D=Water&cat_code%5B%5D=Finance&cat_code%5B%5D=Postal_Services&display_order=t

[jbradfor]

"commercial activity" it is then. Thanks!

[jbradfor]

Successful week, another five done. I don't think I can keep this up much longer.... Anyway, a couple more questions, you've been great so far!

Lesson 10

有营养 -- to have nutritional value? [Context is "黄酒特别有营养，被称为“液体蛋糕”]

Lesson 12:

不容小觑 -- I have no idea on this one. Context is "这些宅男、宅女，在家虽然一言不发，但是他们通过网络交流的火热程度绝对不容小觑。" Looking at jukuu gives one example, "它传递了这样的信息：我们是不容小觑的超级大国，我们不会按你们的规则行事。 ", translated as "We are a superpower to be reckoned with, was the message, and we won't play by your rules. "

Lesson 13:

快节奏 -- "fast tempo" is the literal translation, but it seems off here. lively? fast paced? [Context is "昕煜虽然在做慢速中文，但喜欢快节奏的东西", where 昕煜 is the given name of the person that does SlowChinese.]

Lesson 14

玉龙 and 金凤 -- from the context ("天上有一条玉龙和一只金凤"), I assume they are immortals. But the baidu articles don't talk about them. Are they well known?

游船 -- tourist boat? http://baike.baidu.com/view/592328.htm [context is 水上有石桥和亭子，还有大大小小的游船]

花鸟虫鱼 -- plants and animals? wildlife? Is this a common expression? or just 4 things together? [context is "西湖周围有很多花鸟虫鱼，所以在不同的季节，西湖有不同的景色"]

"天际线" -- skyline? [context is "为了保护西湖的天际线，杭州制定法律，限制高楼的建造"]. I'm not sure about skyline, as I think of skyline as only for buildings, this seems more like a "scenery line", but I can't think of a good English translation for that.

Thanks!

[Glenn]

At your behest, I'll give it another go.

Lesson 10

有营养 -- to have nutritional value? [Context is "黄酒特别有营养，被称为“液体蛋糕”]

Or just "nutritious," I'd say.

Lesson 12:

不容小觑 -- I have no idea on this one. Context is "这些宅男、宅女，在家虽然一言不发，但是他们通过网络交流的火热程度绝对不容小觑。" Looking at jukuu gives one example, "它传递了这样的信息：我们是不容小觑的超级大国，我们不会按你们的规则行事。 ", translated as "We are a superpower to be reckoned with, was the message, and we won't play by your rules. "

"Not to be underestimated." See: 不容 and 小觑.

Lesson 14

玉龙 and 金凤 -- from the context ("天上有一条玉龙和一只金凤"), I assume they are immortals. But the baidu articles don't talk about them. Are they well known?

I think they're not immortals.

玉龙, particularly 龙形的玉雕。

金凤, particularly 金质的或金饰的凤形熏炉。

For the others the best I can say is "probably". I'll be waiting along with you to find out. That last one is a guess on my part, so I'm curious to know how close I came (althought perhaps it's really hard without more context).

[Edit] I'll leave what I believe to be my obvious error about 玉龙 and 金凤 in there, and say that I ended up changing my answer when I saw that the two definitions I found were the only two that seemed to be a pair. I was in a bit of a hurry at the time, though, and later I realized that I had forgotten all about the original sentence, which upon review, seems to clearly show that I was wrong about my guesses. At any rate, the answer should be in the links somewhere.

[Edit 2] I think 玉龙 is 传说中的神龙, but I can't find anything similar for 金凤, which is what led to my initial suspicion of that conclusion. Ha, I just realized 神龍, like in 七龍珠. Nice.

[jbradfor]

Thanks Glenn.

I'm still not with you on the sentence "这些宅男、宅女，在家虽然一言不发，但是他们通过网络交流的火热程度绝对不容小觑。", however. How one would translate this? "Although these Otaku do not speak much at home, on the internet they exchange heated words ..."?

One more question: in the text "西湖三面环山，另一面则是杭州市区", how would you translate "三面环山"? Does this refer to a specific mountain called "三面环"? Or does it mean 西湖 is ringed by mountains on three sides?

[SiMaKe]

I'm still not with you on the sentence "这些宅男、宅女，在家虽然一言不发，但是他们通过网络交流的火热程度绝对不容小觑。", however. How one would translate this? "Although these Otaku do not speak much at home, on the internet they exchange heated words ..."?

Given the context before this sentence occurs (some are very hungry for information, read a lot of news, very interested in social issues), I'm guessing one possible translation is: While these "home boys and girls" are silent at home, the extent of their passion when on the internet should not be underestimated.

One more question: in the text "西湖三面环山，另一面则是杭州市区", how would you translate "三面环山"? Does this refer to a specific mountain called "三面环"? Or does it mean 西湖 is ringed by mountains on three sides?

Grammatically, I would read it in Chinglish as "West Lake's three sides surrounded by mountains..."

And since this is the West Lake in Hangzhou, it probably means just that.

[jbradfor]

OK, I'll go with "not be underestimated".

Still looking for help on two more items! Please?

花鸟虫鱼 -- plants and animals? wildlife? Is this a common expression? or just 4 things together? [context is "西湖周围有很多花鸟虫鱼，所以在不同的季节，西湖有不同的景色"]

"天际线" -- skyline? [context is "为了保护西湖的天际线，杭州制定法律，限制高楼的建造"]. I'm not sure about skyline, as I think of skyline as only for buildings, this seems more like a "scenery line", but I can't think of a good English translation for that.

[SiMaKe]

Still looking for help on two more items! Please?

花鸟虫鱼 -- plants and animals? wildlife? Is this a common expression? or just 4 things together? [context is "西湖周围有很多花鸟虫鱼，所以在不同的季节，西湖有不同的景色"]

Based on context, I would venture that it means something like "flowers and fauna", "nature" or "natural things". I did find two paintings with this 4 character phrase on them, so that suggests these 4 characters may well represent some collective concept such as the above.

http://image.askyaya.../4230/55960.jpg

http://image.askyaya.../4230/55961.jpg

Edit：ABC Dictionary includes 虫鱼 as "insects and fish, often mentioned as a field of Chinese painting" while the 21st Century Chinese-English Bidirectional Dictionary describes 花鸟 as "1.[Fine Arts] painting of flowers and birds in traditional Chinese style".

So I take this as additional evidence that the term is a collective concept.

"天际线" -- skyline? [context is "为了保护西湖的天际线，杭州制定法律，限制高楼的建造"]. I'm not sure about skyline, as I think of skyline as only for buildings, this seems more like a "scenery line", but I can't think of a good English translation for that.

According to Webster, skyline also refers not only to buildings but to mountains as well. So that would be a perfect translation given the rest of the sentence.

Main Entry: sky·line

1 : the apparent juncture of earth and sky : horizon

2 : an outline (as of buildings or a mountain range) against the background of the sky

[jbradfor]

According to Webster, skyline also refers not only to buildings but to mountains as well. So that would be a perfect translation given the rest of the sentence.

Main Entry: sky·line

1 : the apparent juncture of earth and sky : horizon

2 : an outline (as of buildings or a mountain range) against the background of the sky

Really? I didn't know that. Interestingly enough, the wikipedia article on Skyline says "A skyline is best described as the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background." And if you search google images (and take out "nissan"), you get only city buildings. Which is not to say you're wrong, but at least I can defend my lack of knowledge of the second meaning B)

A couple more, then I'm done through lesson 19, and will probably take a break for a while.... I now have almost 1000 words waiting for me....

千古流传 -- "one thousand old transmitted"?? "old story"? [Context is " 《牛郎织女》作 为中国四 大民间传说之一，是中国千古流传的爱情经典"]

孙女 -- MDBG says this means "granddaughter (son's daughter)"; can it also mean daughter? [Context is "织女是王母的孙女，她和牵牛私自恋爱违反了天上的规定"]

浓厚的兴趣 -- "dense interest" doesn't sound very good. just "interest" or "strong interest"? [context is "现在的中国人不但热衷于过西方节日，而且也对传统节日产生了越来越浓厚的兴趣"]

横竖撇捺折 -- I understand that this is the five strokes used in the 笔画 IME method; I'm not sure which 折 this is. MDBG gives two pronunciations for this character:

折 折 [she2] /to break (e.g. stick or bone)/a loss/

摺 折 [zhe2] /to fold (a document)/to turn/to bend/

Searching google ("横竖撇捺折 +site:.tw") seems to give a couple of answers for the first, but neither of these defs include a meaning as a stroke.

Last, I got a really weird one. What is the pinyin for the camera manufacturer Hasselblad? Their Chinese site gives the characters as 哈苏, but I don't know if the first character should be pronounced ha1 or ha3. Neither laughter/yawn nor a dog seems like good names for a camera company.

[SiMaKe]

Really? I didn't know that. Interestingly enough, the wikipedia article on Skyline says "A skyline is best described as the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background." And if you search google images (and take out "nissan"), you get only city buildings. Which is not to say you're wrong, but at least I can defend my lack of knowledge of the second meaning B)

No need to defend anything (and I have no problem being wrong - it's a lifelong habit as my family likes to point out:lol:). Actually I would have agreed with you had I not looked it up in Webster's. Maybe the right answer is that it can be both (outlines of buildings and mountains). Take the case of West Lake in Hangzhou. This is in the historic center of Hangzhou so there are buildings as well as mountains around it. See picture (from Wikipedia).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lake

Also here is a shot of the skyline of Hong Kong (as the page says "widely ranked by skyscraper enthusiasts as having the best skyline in the world") and the view includes the mountains.

http://en.wikipedia....ine#cite_note-6

Also from the same page,

"Paul D. Spreiregen, FAIA, has called a skyline "a physical representation [of a city's] facts of life ... a potential work of art ... its collective vista."" That would seem to include all types of physical attributes.

So maybe a better translation would then be "...collective vista".

千古流传 -- "one thousand old transmitted"?? "old story"? [Context is " 《牛郎织女》作 为中国四 大民间传说之一，是中国千古流传的爱情经典"]

That phrase seems to be something like (in Chinglish) "through the ages handed down" so the sentence might be "The Cowherd and Weaving Maid, as one of China's four great folk tales, is China's classic romance handed down through the ages.

孙女 -- MDBG says this means "granddaughter (son's daughter)"; can it also mean daughter? [Context is "织女是王母的孙女，她和牵牛私 自恋爱违反了天上的规定"]

I learned it is granddaughter. Seems to fit in the context: 'Vega is the Queen Mother's (I thought that implied grandmother?) granddaughter, so she and the cowherd being secretly in love was a violation of heaven's law.

浓厚的兴趣 -- "dense interest" doesn't sound very good. just "interest" or "strong interest"? [context is "现在的中国人不但热衷于过西方节日，而且也产对传统节日生了越来越浓厚的兴趣"]

How about "keen interest" or "intense interest" or even "obsessed" as 热衷 could imply? With the use of 越来越 ("more and more/increasingly") maybe "increasingly keen/intense/strong interest".

[jbradfor]

Thanks all, and especially SiMaKe, posted the word lists to lessons 10-19 over in the other slowchinese thread. Now it's time to get to work and start learning them!