HorseDragonFish

Bicycles

Chris — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:39:07 +0000

In Taiwan, the word for bicycle is 腳踏車 (jiǎo tà chē). In mainland China, 自行车 (zì xíng chē) is more common.

车座
chēzuò
saddle

车轮
chēlún
wheel

脚蹬
jiǎodēng
pedal

轮胎
lúntāi
tyre

刹车
shāchē
brakes

车把
chēbǎ
handlebars

车架
chējià
frame

链条
liàntiáo
chain

辐条
fútiáo
spokes

打气 (pump up)
dǎqì
你可以帮我打气吗?
nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ dǎqì ma
Could you help pump up my tyres?

戳破 (puncture)
chuōpò
我的车轮被戳破了
wǒ de chēlún bèi chuō pòle
My tyre has a puncture.

出租 (rent)
chūzū
我想要租一辆紅色的脚踏车
wǒ xiǎngyào zū yī liàng hóngsè de jiǎotàchē
I would like to hire a red bicycle.

二手 (second-hand)
èrshǒu
我不要买很烂的二手自行车
wǒ bú yào mǎi hěn làn de èrshǒu zìxíngchē
I don’t want to buy a shitty, second-hand bicycle.

山地自行车 (mountain bike)
shāndìzìxíngchē
爷爷死了,我们去偷他的山地车吧
yéye sǐle, wǒmen qù tōu tā de shāndìchē ba
Grandpa’s dead, let’s steal his mountain bike.

安全帽 (helmet)
ānquánmào
我有时候骑脚踏车没有戴安全帽
wǒ yǒushíhòu qí jiǎotàchē méiyǒu dài ānquánmào
Sometimes I ride my bicycle without wearing a helmet.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Ten Radicals

Chris — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 12:34:17 +0000

An introduction to ten of the most common radicals in Chinese.

Radicals can be thought of as the most basic components of Chinese characters. Being able to recognise radicals not only helps with memorization but also allows for a richer understanding of the language. Listed below are ten of the most common radicals found in modern Chinese.

扌Hand (shǒu) 手
Found on the left-hand side, often referred to as 提手旁 (tí shǒu páng).

打 to hit
dǎ
提 to carry
tí

艹 Grass (cǎo) 艸
Found at the top, often referred to as 草字头 (cǎo zì tóu).

花 flower
huā
茶 tea
chá

氵Water (shuǐ) 水
Found on the left-hand side, often referred to as 三点水 (sān diǎn shuǐ).

海 sea
hǎi
河 river
hé

忄Heart (xīn) 心
Found on the left-hand side, often referred to as 竖心旁 (shù xīn páng).

情 feeling
qíng
性 character
xìng

宀 Roof (mián) 宀
Found at the top, often referred to as 宝盖 (bǎo gài).

家 home
jiā
宿 lodge
sù

木 Tree (mù) 木
Found on the left-hand side, often referred to as 木字旁 (mù zì páng).

森 forrest
sēn
果 fruit
guǒ

日 Sun (rì) 日
No set position, often referred to as 日字旁 (rì zì páng).

时 time
shí
春 spring
chūn

灬 Fire (huǒ) 火
Found at the bottom, often referred to as 四点火 (sì diǎn huǒ).

热 hot
rè
煮 cook
zhǔ

钅Gold (jīn) 金
Found on the left-hand side, often referred to as 金字旁 (jīn zì páng).

钱 money
qián
银 silver
yín

⺮ Bamboo (zhú) 竹
Found at the tope, often referred to as 竹字头 (zhú zì tóu).

筷 chopstick
kuài
筐 basket
kuāng

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

How to Write a Simple Christmas Card in Chinese

Chris — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:27:43 +0000

亲爱的
qīn ài de
Dear

祝
zhù
to wish

Christmas is 圣诞节 however 耶诞节 is also used, which stems from the Chinese word for Jesus, 耶稣.

圣诞快乐
shèngdàn kuài lè
Merry Christmas

佳节愉快
jiājié yúkuài
Happy Holidays

新年快乐
xīnnián kuàilè
Happy New Year

爱你的
ài nǐ de
Love from

情愛的媽媽，爸爸

祝你們聖誕節愉快及新年快樂

愛你的 Billy

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Fingers

Chris — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:54:28 +0000

拇指
mǔzhǐ
thumb

食指
shízhǐ
index finger

中指
zhōngzhǐ
middle finger

無名指
wúmíngzhǐ
ring finger

小指
xiǎozhǐ
pinkie

手指甲
shǒuzhǐjiǎ
nail

你指什麼?
nǐ zhǐ shén.me
What are you pointing at?

他被指控酒後開車.
tā bèi zhǐkòng jiǔhòu kāichē
He was accused of drunken driving.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

How to be a Gentleman in Chinese

Chris — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:57:24 +0000

Manners 礼貌

请
qǐng
Please

请给我一点鱼子酱
qǐng gěi wǒ yīdiǎn yúzǐjiàng
Please give me a little caviar.

女士优先
nǚshì yōuxiān
Ladies first

不用客气
búyòng kèqì
You’re welcome

Be Polite 客气

抱歉
bàoqiàn
Sorry

我非常抱歉, 我把你的单片眼镜弄坏了
wǒ fēicháng bàoqiàn, wǒ bǎ nǐde dānpiànyǎnjìng nòng huàile
I’m terribly sorry, but I broke your monocle.

麻烦
máfán
To trouble someone

麻烦你把我的烟斗给我好吗?
máfan nǐ bǎ wǒde yāndǒu gěi wǒ hǎo ma
Could I trouble you to pass me my smoking pipe?

恕我失陪
shù wǒ shīpéi
To excuse yourself

请恕我失陪一下, 我得去洗手间
qǐng shù wǒ shīpéi yīxià, wǒ děi qù xǐshǒujiān
Please excuse me a moment, I must go to the restroom.

Be Modest 谦虚

不敢当
bùgǎndāng
You flatter me

这样的夸奖我不敢当
zhèyàng de kuājiǎng wǒ bùgǎndāng
You flatter me with such praise.

Introduce Others 介绍

允许
yǔnxǔ
Allow

请允许我介绍萊克特大夫
qǐng yǔnxǔ wǒ jièshào láikètè dàfū
Please allow me to introduce Dr. Lecter.

Charm 魅力

美丽
měilì
Beautiful

你的眼睛真美丽
nǐ de yǎnjīng zhēn měilì
Your eyes are so beautiful.

Be Classy 优雅

伏特加马天尼
fútèjiā mǎtiānní
Vodka Martini

伏特加马天尼, 摇匀, 不是搅
fútèjiā mǎtiānní, yáoyún, búshì jiǎo
Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Soy Milk Man Episode 2

Chris — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:48:30 +0000

你要外帶嗎?
nǐ yào wàidài ma
Do you want it to-go?

要謝謝
yào xièxiè
Yes, thanks

你要不要加糖?
nǐ yào bùyào jiātáng
Do you want to add sugar?

豆漿超人你要不要加糖啊?
dòujiāng chāorén nǐ yào bùyào jiātáng a
Soy Milk Man, do you want to add sugar?

一點點
yīdiǎndiǎn
A little bit

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Deer

Chris — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:54:40 +0000

While the character for deer is still used in simplified Chinese, it can no longer be found as a element within other characters. To see examples of its usage as a radical we must turn to Traditional characters.

尘塵
chén
dust

丽麗
lì
beauty

晒曬
shài
sundry

瑞格吹掉槍上的灰塵。
ruìgé chuī diào qiāng shàng de huīchén
Riggs blew the dust off his gun.

The character for dust 麤 used to contain 3x鹿 but has been simplified to include 土 instead.

多麼美麗的貓咪!
duōme měilì de māomī
What a beautiful pussy!

高麗 is an old name for Korea, but is still used occasionally such as in 高麗菜, cabbage

你不只曬黑也曬傷了。
Nǐ bùzhǐ shài hēi yě shài shāngle
You didn’t just get a tan, you got sunburnt.

機器戰警,請幫我曬衣服。
Jīqì zhàn jǐng, qǐng bāng wǒ shài yīfú.
Robocop help me dry the clothes.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Eggs in Chinese

Chris — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:30:35 +0000

蛋殼 eggshell
dàn ké
蛋黃 egg yolk
dàn huáng
蛋白 egg white
dàn bái
煎蛋 fried egg
jiān dàn
水煮蛋 boiled egg
shuǐ zhǔ dàn
炒蛋 scrambled egg
chǎo dàn
蔥蛋 green-onion omlette
cōng dàn
荷包蛋 poached egg
hé bāo dàn
蛋炒飯 egg-fried rice
dàn chǎo fàn
蛋包飯 rice omlette
dàn bāo fàn
歐姆蛋 omlette
ōu mǔ dàn
茶葉蛋 tea-boiled egg
chá yè dàn
鹹蛋 salty egg
xián dàn
皮蛋 thousand-year egg
pí dàn
蛋糕 cake
dàn gāo

insults 粗話
王八蛋 bastard/son of a bitch
wáng bā dàn
混蛋 bastard
hún dàn
笨蛋 idiot
bèn dàn
傻蛋 fool
shǎ dàn
滾蛋 f**k off
gǔn dàn

random
蛋蛋 balls
dàn dàn
巨蛋 arena/stadium
jù dàn
蛋白質 protein
dàn bái zhí
蛋酒 eggnog
dàn jiǔ

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

Rubber Bananas

Chris — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:01:15 +0000

香蕉
xiāngjiāo
banana

橡膠
xiàngjiāo
rubber

我愛我新的橡膠做的靴子。
wǒ ài wǒ xīn de xiàngjiāo zuò de xuēzi
I love my new rubber boots.

我愛我新的香蕉做的靴子。
wǒ ài wǒ xīn de xiāngjiāo zuò de xuēzi
I love my new banana boots.

橡膠是一種具有彈性的材料。
xiàngjiāo shì yīzhǒng jùyǒu tánxìng de cáiliào
Rubber is an elastic material.

香蕉是一種具有彈性的材料。
xiāngjiāo shì yīzhǒng jùyǒu tánxìng de cáiliào
Banana is an elastic material.

我在洗澡時喜歡玩橡膠小鴨。
wǒ zài xǐzǎo shí xǐhuan wán xiàngjiāo xiǎoyā
I like to play with my rubber duck in the bath.

我在洗澡時喜歡玩香蕉小鴨。
wǒ zài xǐzǎo shí xǐhuan wán xiāngjiāo xiǎoyā
I like to play with my banana duck in the bath.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish

The Chinese Anti-fraud Numerals

Chris — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:25:20 +0000

By simply adding three strokes we can
convert the number 三十 to 五十.
Therefore for official purposes, such as
banking, it is necessary to use anti-fraud
numerals. These are commonly referred
to as 大写 in Chinese.

零一二三四五六七八九十百千
零壹贰参肆伍陆柒捌玖拾佰仟

Creating short mnemonic stories for
the characters can be helpful if you are
having trouble remembering them.
Some examples are shown below.

零 I ‘command’令 zero ‘rain’雨

贰 ‘To see’ 见 and ‘to shoot/
arrow’ 弋. I am reminded of the idiom
一箭双雕 ‘one arrow, two eagles’.

参 Is also the character cān, which
sounds like sān. Notice the final three
brush strokes. A ‘big’大 brush has
not one nor two, but three ‘bristles’彡.

捌 Contains 別 bié which starts
with the same ㄅ ‘b’ sound as ‘bā’.

玖 ‘Long’ 久 live the ‘king’ 王.
久 has the same pronunciation as 九.

Of course some characters will always
be harder to remember than others but
noticing the shapes, sounds and radicals
all can help you to not forget.

劇終
The End

A Mandarin Chinese Comic by HorseDragonFish