Who’s up for Mandarin II?
Mandarin I Berkeley Extension Class 12 Nov. 29, 2011
425 Market StreetSan Francisco, CAProfessor: Virginia Mau
Mandarin II is now available for enrollment. I know because I just enrolled 12/5/2011. Monday nights at 6:30, starting Jan. 20. Same price, same floor, same building.
奈有呢
nai4 you3 ne = what else? (would you like, did you buy, etc.)
奈
nai4 = how can one help (Mandarintools.com) but, how; bear, stand, endure (Chinese Text Project)(Lots of talking with no characters which perhaps I will transcribe someday…)
就
jiu4 = only
多久
duo1 jiu3 = how long?
三明治
sān míng zhì = sandwich
漢堡包/汉堡包
hàn bǎo bāo = hamburger
太贵了
tai4 gui4 le = it’s too expensive
This is the same 太 that is in 太太 “married woman” or “Mrs.” or, literally, “extremely extremely” (a euphemism for a woman’s breasts). Or “too too.” Interesting that a “tutu” is what ballerinas wear: women who represent the ultimate in femininity. And now maybe we understand why the English word “too” has two “O’s”: because those “O’s” epitomize breasts. A woman’s breasts engorged with milk represents the pinnacle in extremes. If we look at common English words that have two “T’s”:“taut,” “tight,” “tit,” “teat,” and “tote”: all consistent with engorged breasts. In French “tête” means “head,” which is something that sticks out. Keep in mind that I’m talking general concepts here because I want to encompass all 5,000 years of written record, before so many ideas were around and people were less specific with sound. But when you consider that the Grand Tetons and the dot on the letter ‘i,” also known as a “tittle” (the dot on a “j” as well), share breast characteristics, it seems clear that women’s body parts have had an impact on language.
The word “title” is a good illustration. You almost have to have writing to have elaborate titles. People’s titles got longer as writing progressed. You can see this with the Ancient Egyptians. Their cartouches, which recorded the names of the kings, started as circles
1 and then go more oblong as the kings added more titles. A “title” is the first element of an official name. “Mr.” “Mrs.” “Ms.” “Dr.” We all have titles that give us legitimacy.
What enters first into the room when a woman walks through the door? Her breasts. Just like a title is the first part of a name.
This reminds me of a joke that my husband told about a co-worker when the co-worker hired his secretary: “He made her put her hands on her shoulders so that her elbows stuck out in front of her”—my husband would mime this part— “and then walk toward the wall. If her elbows hit the wall first, she wasn’t qualified.” (Rimshot.)
| $1 | 10¢ | 1¢ | ||
| 块 | 毛 | 分 | ||
| kuai4 | mao2 | fen1 | (oral only) | |
| 元 | 角 | 分 | (written only) | |
| yuan2 | jiao3 | fen1 |
人抿币
ren2 min2 bi = the official currency of the People’s Republic of China, i.e., legal tender
yuan 元 is the same as ¥
¥ Renminbi (RMB) 人民币
民 = people, subjects, citizens
min2
币 = currency, coins, legal tender
bi4
You can say ¥13.95 for price (as I should have on my menu).
去 qu4 = go away, leave, depart (CTP), to go; to leave; to remove (MT.com)
I thought of this character originally as a grave, but the Seal Script, etc. looks like birth. This almost implies that women were writing language because if you’re saying “go,” it’s to an entity that is in you.
Whereas from a man’s perspective, it’s more like separation or division. “Depart.” “Of part.” “De” is everywhere in our language, even when it’s not perceived as Latin. “Go” seems more like an order. “Depart” seems more sorrowful. And “leave” might come from leaf, which falls from a tree when it “dies.”
去去去!
Means “Go, go, go!” and sounds like “chew, chew, chew.”
游泳
you2 yong3 = swimming
游
you2 = swim; oat, drift; wander, roam
泳
yong3 = swimming; to swim
游水
you2 shui3 = swimming
游水下
you2 shui xia4 = free swimming shrimp (Recall that 下means “under, underneath, below; down;inferior; bring down,” and if you think about it, you will recall that “shrimp” means “small.”)
没有人
mei2 you3 ren2 = nobody
去游泳怎吗？
qu4 you2 yong3 zen ma = Do you want to go swimming?
去 or 去不去
qu4 or qu4 bu4 qu4 = “Go” or “not go”
泳衣
yong3 yi4 = swimsuit, bathing suit
裤
ku4 = drawers; trousers; pants
京剧
jing ju = (bei)jing opera
變／变
bian4 = to change; to become different; to transform; to vary; rebellion
臉／脸
lian3 = face
對不起/对不起
dui4 bu qui3 = apologize (don’t get up, stay calm) I’m sorry; pardon me; forgive me
不好意思
bu4 hao3 yi4 si = didn’t mean to, feel embarrassed; be ill at ease; find it embarrassing (to do sth)
的時候/的时候
de shi2 hou4 = when; during; at the time of
怎么去
zen3 me qu4? = How to remove (?) How will you go (?)
了
le = (character that English doesn’t have) making action or judgement statement
请再说一遍
qing3 zai4 shuo1 yi1 bian4 = Please repeat what you said.
遍
bian4 = a time; everywhere; turn; all over; one time
打
da3 = hit
弹
tan2 = play
踢
ti1 = kick
滑
hua2 = slide, slip
雪
xue3 = snow
Chinese characters and definitions from:
http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/8586/
