tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation; rising prices]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”
Prices are rising worldwide, with reports pointing to the war in Ukraine being a significant factor. As of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Soaring Worldwide Inflation—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses the expression “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])”, this week’s MEotW, to correspond with the English expression “inflation”. (“Quánqiú (Quán·qiú whole · globe → [worldwide] 全球) tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])” is used to specifically correspond with “worldwide inflation”.)
Deflating “Inflation”
If you find “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])” to be a bit of a mouthful, then you may be pleased to know that there is an abbreviation for this in the form of the expression “tōngzhàng (tōng·zhàng {through(out) → [common] (abbr. for tōnghuò)} · {inflating (abbr. for péngzhàng)} → [inflation (abbr. for tōnghuò péngzhàng)] 通胀 通脹)”.
Another example of a Mandarin expression that is an abbreviation is “xīnguān (xīn·guān new · {hat → [corona]} → [novel coronavirus (esp. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) (abbr. for xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú)] 新冠)” (a previous MEotW), which is an abbreviation for the mouthful that is “xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú ((xīn·xíng new · {mould → [type]} 新型) (guān·zhuàng {hat → [corona]} · shape 冠状 冠狀) (bìng·dú disease · poison → [virus] 病毒) → [novel coronavirus (esp. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19)])”.
Through It All…
Interestingly, the “tōng ({[(going)] through[(out)]; open [to]} [→ [common; general | connecting/communicating [to/with] [→ [logical; coherent]]]] 通)” in “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation; rising prices])” appears in several expressions that at first glance may not seem to be related, for example:
- tōngguò (tōng·guò through · passing → [passing through] → [through] 通过 通過)
- pǔtōng (pǔ·tōng common; general; universal; widespread · {through(out) → [general; common]} → [ordinary; common; average; general] 普通)
- pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話)
- gōutōng (gōu·tōng {(through) channel} · {(going) through → [communicating]} → [communicating; communication | linking up] 沟通 溝通)
- tōnglíng (tōng·líng {(going) through to → [communicating/connecting with]} · spirits → [engaging in spiritism | spiritism] 通灵 通靈)