The Most Satisfying Feeling I Get from Learning Chinese
One of the most satisfying feelings I’ve experienced in learning Chinese is the feeling I get after hearing a new word and just *understanding* it. This isn’t that hard when reading (and that’s why we love 汉字), but when it comes to listening, it’s a whole different story. So the moments when I’ve heard a new word and intuitively known what 汉字 it consists of plus its meaning of have made me feel so accomplished. Over time I’ve jotted down some of these words, and I thought they would make a fun post.
迷失 míshī - to lose (one’s bearings) / to get lost I was able to understand this word thanks to knowing words like 迷路, 迷茫, 失去, and 消失. I first remember identifying this word in Escape Plan’s song 夜空中最亮的星.
旅途 lǚtú - journey / trip I know a lot of words with 旅 like 旅游, 旅行, and 旅程, and I was also familiar with 途 via 路途 and 前途. So 旅途 was very easy for me to understand.
心愿 xīnyuàn - cherished desire / dream / craving / wish / aspiration 心愿 is similar in meaning to 愿望 and 意愿, which I already knew. I believe I first heard this word in the song 有点甜 by 汪苏泷 and BY2.
高傲 gāo'ào - arrogant / haughty / proud I heard this word in the song 寻宝 by 沈以诚. I’ve listened to this song many times, and one day it just clicked! It’s all thanks to the similar words 骄傲 and 傲慢.
安稳 ānwěn - smooth and steady There are so many words with 安 like 安定 and 平安. I also know some 稳 words, such as 稳定 and 平稳. So I was able to put two and two together for 安稳.
还原 huányuán - to restore to the original state / to reconstruct (an event) The meaning of 还 here is very familiar from 还给 and 还清. Also, I know a lot of words with 原: 原来, 原本, 原始, 原先.
选拔 xuǎnbá - to select the best There are so many 选 words I see all the time like 精选, 选举, and 选择. I also know 拔 from 拔苗助长 and 自拔, so I was able to piece together the overall meaning of 选拔.
解压 jiěyā - to relieve stress I’ve already learned the word 缓解 which is related in meaning. Also, I’ve learned 施压 (or 施加压力), which is basically the opposite of 解压.
感人 gǎnrén - touching / moving I think this word is pretty easy to put together if you know similar words like 感染, 感动, and 动人.
认输 rènshū - to concede / to admit defeat I distinctly remember hearing this word in the Tanya Chua song 救生圈. I think I was able to understand it thanks to knowing that 认 can mean to admit like in the words 承认 and 公认.
Here’s to many more of these satisfying moments in 2022!
Last post (probably) of the year! 《泡沫》 was a mega hit off G.E.M.’s 2012 album Xposed. The album features both Mandopop and Cantopop songs. I was initially torn between featuring this song and 《光年之外》, but I ultimately chose 《泡沫》 because it’s my favorite of the two. This song is so packed with feeling that I think you really don’t need to speak a word of Mandarin to understand the emotions the lyrics convey. When I first started listening to Mandopop, G.E.M. was one of the first artists I listened to, and I still enjoy her music to this day. So a Learning Chinese with Lyrics post featuring her is long overdue!
邓紫棋 (G.E.M.) - 泡沫
阳光下的泡沫 是彩色的 就像被骗的我 是幸福的 追究什么对错 你的谎言 基于你还爱我
彩色 cǎisè - color / multi-colored 追究 zhuījiū - to investigate / to look into (Taiwan pr. zhuījiù) 基于 jīyú - because of / on the basis of / in view of / on account of
美丽的泡沫 虽然一刹花火 你所有承诺 虽然都太脆弱 但爱像泡沫 如果能够看破 有什么难过
一刹 yíchà - instant / split second / a moment 花火 huāhuǒ - firework
早该知道泡沫 一触就破 就像已伤的心不胜折磨 也不是谁的错 谎言再多 基于你还爱我
不胜 búshèng - cannot bear or stand / be unequal to / very / extremely (Taiwan pr. bùshēng)
美丽的泡沫 虽然一刹花火 你所有承诺 虽然都太脆弱 爱本是泡沫 如果能够看破 有什么难过
再美的花朵 盛开过就凋落 再亮眼的星 一闪过就坠落 爱本是泡沫 如果能够看破 有什么难过
凋落 diāoluò - to wither (and drop off) / to wilt / to pass away 亮眼 liàngyǎn - conspicuous / showy
thinking in your target language: coherent and eloquent sentences. you use every verb tense perfectly, the grammatical genders are all correct, and your intonation is like a native speaker’s.
I’ve slacked off this summer so now I have a month to refresh my Arabic and advance it to a level high enough to be able to understand my prof in september, who is teaching the entire class in Arabic. So recommend your favourite music and tv shows!!
1.Some nouns, like l'élève (“the student”), have the same spelling and meaning in both forms.
2.Other nouns have the same spelling, but have different meanings.Un tour is a tour, while une tour is a tower.
3.There are also nouns that only have one possible gender. Even a baby girl is bébé, for instance.
4.Many masculine nouns can be changed to a feminine form simply by adding an -e to the end. Your male friend is un ami and your female friend is une amie.
5.Some genders depend on a noun’s classification. For instance, languages, days of the week, months, seasons, metals, colors, and measurements are mostly masculine.
FOUR STEPS TO GUESS GENDERS:
First, the basic pattern is that nouns ending in -e are feminine. All others, especially nouns ending in consonants, are masculine. This is true for over 70% of all nouns.
Second, there are two consonant endings that are generally feminine: -ion and-son.
Third, there are nouns endings in -e that are usually masculine. These are:
-tre, -ble, -cle (think “treble clef”)
-one, -ème, -ège (think “OMG”)
-age, -isme
Fourth, there are a few endings that either have a lot of exceptions or are otherwise more complicated.
-é is masculine, but not -té
-de is masculine, but not -ade, -nde, -ude
-ste and -me tend to be masculine, but there are dozens of exceptions. Words for people ending in -ste are often gender-neutral, e.g. le/la cycliste.
-eur is masculine for most professions or technical terms, but it’s feminine for some emotions and abstract things.
le résumé (masc) — the resumé
la liberté (fem) — the liberty
le guide — the guide
la parade — the parade
le chauffeur — the driver
la peur — the fear
Feminine Animals
In French, female animal nouns are generally formed as follows by taking the last consonant, doubling it, and adding a mute -e to the end.
un chat ⇒ une chatte
un chien ⇒ une chienne
Of course, there are many exceptions. For example:
Quick anecdotal advice for vocabulary retention. I look up the etymology of a word to make a connection between it and languages I already know. My mind jumps around a lot and random connections are easy for me to make rather than just a direct translation.
German -> English Example: Urlaub -> vacation. The word “allow” in English comes from the same root. So my mind can go: Urlaub -> allow (to leave) -> vacation
one of my friends found radiooooo which is a site that streams music from any country from any decade (well, most countries/decade combos work) and we’ve been digging going on a quest to find what is rad
so far the following is good
50s/60s/70s/80s russia
70s cambodia
20s japan
80s ethiopia
80s india
let’s add 70s armenia and 70s japan to this list
actually im willing to bet 70s *any country will be amazing, it’s all been really good so far
and if you go for 90s india fast music you might get hit in the face with tunak tunak tun right away so get your meme groove on
one of my moms recommended 70s east germany and this proves true, this is weird and amazing in a good way
also set the mood to “weird” for maximum fun, it enhances literally every station
Shit this is nice. Can’t wait to find even more 70′s African funk gems.
reading fanfic in your target language can help you pick up new vocabulary words! I just finished ‘Batman R.I.P’ a series of vignettes of different characters grieving the loss of Bruce Wayne.
la bêta lecture- beta reading
une étude des personnage- character study
le Chevalier Noir- dark knight ‘black night’
le canon- canon
le casque- helmet, helm (in this case, batman’s cowl)
la cape- cape
la poussière- dust
un enterrement- burial
la presse people- tabloids, news about celebrities
jouer dans la cour des grands- to punch above your weight, to play in the big leagues, to compete out of one’s skill set ‘to play in the big courts’
If expression ‘cognitive studies’ means anything to you, this could be your opportunity to participate in a real associative experiment, the results of which will be later used for creation of a scientific research.
If not, this could be an opportunity to entertain yourself with a couple of weird questions :D
Anyway, any contribution would be of great - no, enormous - help. So any activity (participation, reblogs, etc.) is very much appreciated. Thank you!
nemzetközi nőnap - International Women’s Day nő -woman asszony- married woman feleség- wife hölgy- lady lány- girl; daughter kislány- little girl anya- mother nagymama- grandmother nagynéni- aunt március- March március nyolcadika - 8 March egyenjogúság- equality, equal rights egyenjogúsítás, emancipáció - emancipation választójog, szavazati jog - right to vote női jogok - women’s rights virág- flower (virág)csokor - bouquet rózsa- rose tulipán- tulips hóvirág- snowdrop jácint- hyacinth csokoládé, csoki - chocolate bonbon- box of chocolates sütemény, süti - cake, cookies ajándék - present, gift
