Meng Lelan Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:02 PM Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:02 PM 秋千 is a swing, isn't it? The kind kids sit on a rubber strap suspended from a tree branch or metal bar. I did not know this word until today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmayo Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:33 PM Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:33 PM I always forget it whenever it comes up in my flashcards, think I ended up deleting it, because the two characters doesn't suggest 'swing' to me in any way. Autumn thousand? Thousand harvests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meng Lelan Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:48 PM Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 at 04:48 PM I don't know why a swing would be an autumn-thousand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fanglu Posted April 26, 2014 at 07:51 PM Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 at 07:51 PM Is this not a simplification issue? The original characters were 鞦韆, which are both only used in this word, according to my dictionary. 秋千 sounded the same and uses easy characters, but has the downside of making no sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonic_Duck Posted April 27, 2014 at 11:04 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 at 11:04 AM Yup, seems to be the case. A character-by-character translation of the 繁体字 version is "swing-swing", cf. 蝴蝶 "butterfly-butterfly" and other such words (of course, this simply serves to illustrate one of many problems with character-by-character translations). Words of the day: 正常版 and 瘦身版 - regular fit and slim-fit, respectively. As you can probably guess, I went to buy shirts today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivi MENG Posted April 27, 2014 at 12:30 PM Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 at 12:30 PM Despite of the simplification issue, there're also cultural elements I guess. According to 百度百科（Baidu-pedia) 汉武帝时宫中盛行荡秋千；唐人高无际《汉武帝后庭秋千赋》云：“秋千者，千秋也。汉武祈千秋之寿，故后宫多秋千之乐 http://baike.baidu.com/subview/45973/7483024.htm?fr=aladdin It says: Swing was popular in the palace of Emperor Han Wu(汉武帝）. 汉武帝 wished for a life span of 1000 years (千秋）， so the swing was named as 秋千 inside the palace. 秋 can be used as an alternative of 'year'. e.g 人生短短几个秋啊 不醉不罢休 means 'Life is too short, why not get drunk' 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 27, 2014 at 12:36 PM Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 at 12:36 PM In Hong Kong, we call it 韆鞦. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted April 29, 2014 at 09:30 AM Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 at 09:30 AM 双关语, shuānggūanyǔ， pun or double entendre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 29, 2014 at 10:18 AM Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 at 10:18 AM Re #1568, also learn the expression 語帶雙關. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooironic Posted April 30, 2014 at 11:55 AM Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 at 11:55 AM 字字珠璣 zìzìzhūjī - "each word a gem (said in praise of someone's writing)". My friend used this to describe my writing (in English, unfortunately, not Chinese, hope it's the opposite one day). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelyus Posted April 30, 2014 at 12:36 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 at 12:36 PM Wow, that's a pretty awesome compliment. And 玑 is a pretty awesome 字. Will prove very useful. No sarcasm there: try explaining the concept of Baroque in Chinese, especially with regard to irregularity being an aesthetic thing. Of course, whether the fact it's also used for the Swiss wristwatch brand Breguet (宝玑) will help or hinder this connection remains to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:49 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:49 PM 激将 definition: [peptelk;to goad sb. into action] 用反话去激人,促使人决心去做 Interesting that the Chinese definition is more complex than the English... I guess an example would be something like, "If you're not going to finish that candy, I can finish it for you", which would cause a child to start stuffing the candy in their face as fast as they could... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:50 PM 摩天轮 (scrape sky wheel): Ferris wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:59 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2014 at 01:59 PM 磨唧 aimlessly chatting, nattering on, talking about unimportant thingsExample: 第一名大概都让队长带到基地了，咱们还在这磨唧！ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted May 3, 2014 at 03:01 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2014 at 03:01 AM 径庭 jing4 ting2 Very unlike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelyus Posted May 6, 2014 at 04:59 PM Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 at 04:59 PM May be worth mentioning that one is most likely to encounter 径庭 in the 成语 idiom 大相径庭. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted May 6, 2014 at 06:20 PM Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 at 06:20 PM It wasn't in the 成语 when I encountered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted May 7, 2014 at 11:24 PM Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 at 11:24 PM 杵 chu3 Usually means pestle or baton as a noun, or poke as verb. But I saw used to describe a soldier standing at attention (in a semi-derisive, semi-friendly way): 别杵这儿 拿凳子坐。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted May 7, 2014 at 11:34 PM Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 at 11:34 PM 贵庚 gui4geng1 How old (are you)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mao Posted May 10, 2014 at 10:18 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 at 10:18 PM 阑尾炎 appendicitis 盲肠 appendix (organ of the body) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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