Briefing
Joshua is a British man in charge of the Beijing branch of a multinational education group. Recently his company has been caught up in a commercial dispute. Today he has come to see a lawyer named Zhang at Baxter Law Firm in Beijing.
Mandarin-English Dialogue #3 – Food Poisoning
07/03/2012 | Author: carlgene
Briefing
Mr Smith is a British man working at a branch of a multinational corporation in Beijing. He has suddenly felt dizzy and fatigued, and has come to a nearby hospital. A doctor named Wang is giving him a check-up.
Listen to Dialogue
Mandarin-English Dialogue #2 – Parent-Teacher Meeting
07/03/2012 | Author: carlgene
Briefing
Mrs Zhang, a Mandarin-speaking woman, is visiting the office of Mr Stevens, who teaches her son Andrew maths. Mr Stevens is concerned about Andrew’s grades dropping.
Listen to Dialogue
Mandarin-English Dialogue #1 – Bank Robbery
06/03/2012 | Author: carlgene
This is the first dialogue that Michael, Leigh and I have created for Chinese interpreting students around the world.
Not only can you listen to an mp3 recording to practice your interpreting and notetaking skills, but you can also refer to the transcript at the end of the exercise to check any new words.
Enjoy! And please leave us your thoughts in the comments section.
Briefing
Detective Inspector Ross Wainwright is interviewing a Mandarin-speaking witness, Mr Li Daming. Daming and his wife, Linjing, were present during a robbery at his local bank.
Listen to Dialogue
Comprehensive Guide to Nouns Ending With 的 de
03/03/2012 | Author: carlgene
I don’t think you’ll find a list like this anywhere on the web, or in textbooks or grammar books. Indeed, I’ve read pretty much every major Chinese grammar textbook and do not remember seeing these nouns covered in any shape or form.
So what is this post about? It’s a compilation of a very special type of noun in Mandarin – the noun which ends with 的 de. These nouns are special because 的 usually marks the end of one word and the beginning of another, but occasionally – very occasionally – it can also mark an entirely separate word. I’m no linguist, but in my opinion these should be considered discrete words since their meaning cannot simply be derived by the sum of their parts.
I think this list will be useful for Chinese learners, since these words are completely unintuitive. Interestingly, many refer to occupations, and some of these occupations are becoming less common in modern-day China. Others refer to people you may see around the street, while others are idiomatic or curse words.
45 Mandarin Sentences with Chinese Characteristics
09/02/2012 | Author: carlgene
The following is a collection of sentences in Mandarin which I believe are special in some way.
What do I mean by “special”? Well, let’s just say grammatically and structurally they’re not exactly typical, and in most cases they stand-alone as independent expressions. Plus, many of them contain elements of Chinese culture that set them apart from regular sentences.
I’ve broken these up into beginners, intermediate and advanced levels and tried to explain not only the literal meaning of each sentence, but its function and near-equivalent translation in English. Of course your comments and constructive feedback are always welcome in the comments section. Enjoy!
My 30 Favourite English Words
29/12/2011 | Author: carlgene
A random selection here of words I’m really fond of in English. I will write up a Chinese list later.
My 30 Favourite English Words
In no particular order.
1. cliché [陈词滥调]
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: French, past participle (used as a noun) of clicher ‘to stereotype.’
2. irony [no exact Chinese equivalent exists as far as I know; can be 反语 or 具有讽刺意味的事 depending on the situation]
ORIGIN early 16th cent. (also denoting Socratic irony): via Latin from Greek eirōneia ‘simulated ignorance,’ from eirōn ‘dissembler.’
3. malice [恶意]
ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from Latin malitia, from malus ‘bad.’
221 Diseases, Disabilities and Disorders in English and Chinese
30/11/2011 | Author: carlgene
Since I kept having to add more and more diseases to 110 Diseases, Disabilities and Disorders in English and Chinese, I thought I’d make a separate post with 100 or so more diseases for readers who want a more comprehensive glossary. Enjoy!
221 Diseases, Disabilities and Disorders in English and Chinese
1. Acne: 痤疮
2. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) (formerly ADD): 注意力不足过动症；注意力缺失症
3. Agoraphobia: 广场恐惧症
4. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome): 艾滋病
5. Albinism: 白化症
Modern Weapon Vocabulary in English and Chinese
29/11/2011 | Author: carlgene
I’ve compiled here a list of the most common modern weapon vocabulary in English, along with their corresponding translations in Mandarin. This may be useful in boosting your defense-related vocabulary which comes up often in news articles and creative writing.
Modern Weapon Vocabulary in English and Chinese
air gun: 汽枪
ammunition: 弹药
anti-aircraft: 高射的
anti-personnel: 杀伤人员的
anti-tank: 反坦克的
artillery: 火炮
assault rifle: 突击步枪
automatic: 自动的
Read more »
Most Common 同音词 (Word-Homophones) in Mandarin
29/11/2011 | Author: carlgene
The following is a list I’ve compiled of the most common word-homophones* in Chinese.
This may be useful for your general study, since there are so many homophones in Mandarin.
*I say “word-homophones” deliberately, since I’m referring specifically to 同音词 (homophones made up of multi-character words), not 同音字 (“character-homophones”, when two characters have the same pronunciation).
Most Common 同音词 (Word-Homophones) in Mandarin
yóuyú: 由于 (“because of; due to”) and 鱿鱼 (“squid”)
chénmò: 沉默 (“silent; taciturn”) and 沉没 (“to sink”)
jìyì: 记忆 (“remember”) and 技艺 (“skill; art”)
jiāodài: 交代 or 交待 (“to hand over; to explain; to make clear; et al”) and 胶带 (“tape”)
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