Category: Names

Categories
Culture Current Events Experiences Language Learning Names Science Technology

Lǐ Huá

Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)
Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Citing national security concerns, the American government recently passed a law banning the popular social media app TikTok. Ironically (some would say hilariously), many American TikTok users, whom many are calling “TikTok refugees” (“TikTok nànmín (nàn·mín calamity · {persons of a certain occupation} → [refugees] 难民 難民)”), have defiantly responded in protest by migrating to an even more overtly Chinese social media app, Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) (also called RedNote), in such numbers (more than 700,000 in just two days) that Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) became the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store for a while.

On Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), many regular Chinese people have found it moving and rewarding to be able to make friends with regular American people, and vice versa. Many Americans have even expressed and shown interest in learning Mandarin to better connect with their new Chinese wǎngyǒu (wǎng·yǒu {net → [network] → [Internet]} · friends 网友 網/网友) (Internet friends).

With all this happening on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), the topic of “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)”, this week’s MEotW, has come up. This expression is a person’s name, with “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)”, which literally means “Plum”, being the surname, and a very common one at that. “Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)” is an interesting expression that is discussed in the MEotW post on “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)”.

So, why are people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) talking about Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)?

Imaginary Pen Pals Magically Coming to Life

Here is a TikTok video containing this week’s MEotW, that explains how many Chinese Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) users feel about all the American people who have recently joined the app:

@jasmeizhang As a Chinese, what do we feel about foreigners joining RedNote? #tiktokrefugee #rednote #xiaohongshu #chinese ♬ original sound – jasmeizhang

(For any who cannot access this video, the gist is that when taking exams, students in China often encounter a question that asks them to assume the role of Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) and write a letter in English to an imaginary foreign pen pal, perhaps about Chinese cuisine or some other topic related to China. So, for many Chinese people, encountering so many Americans and their comments on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) recently feels like the imaginary foreign pen pals they wrote to so many times over the years as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) magically came to life and finally wrote back. She concludes by saying, “Thank you for coming over, trying to post in our language, talking to us, interacting with everyone. It makes us feel like we’re not alone in this world. After all, we’re all human, and deep down, humans are more alike than we’re different.”)

After a while, I was also able to find the same video on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), so here it is coming from there, as a backup in case TikTok really ends up going away and not coming back for users in America or other places:

Here are some of the comments on TikTok in response to this video:

Many of us spent our childhoods “digging to China” in sandboxes, on beaches and in backyards. We were always meant to be friends, Li Hua. 🩵 so much love from all of us

Dear Li Hua, sorry we couldn’t write back sooner! Our bosses are kinda jerks. But we’re working on that! We’re all really happy to see your lives and pets and culture! Love, your American pen pal ❤️

Why am I crying so much at this story 🤧 I felt it would be disrespectful to invade your space but hearing this other side of things, I’m gonna join rednote now and start learning mandarin.

I’m learning mandarin on Duolingo. So far, I can only order hot water and soup. I’m so excited to one day be able to speak your language as beautifully as you speak mine. 🥲

Here is a video I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), with a reply from the American side to Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華):

[The original post can be found here.]

As an example of the cross-cultural exchange taking place, here is another video that I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), by a fellow who very likely had often written letters as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) when he was in school:

[The original post can be found here. Here is a rough translation of the introductory blurb: “40-year-old middle-aged retired military officer’s only post-retirement joy; among family members who understands?”]

Wild Beasts and a Great Wall

Unfortunately, as alluded to above, the politics of this Devil-ruled world, with its bitter and sometimes murderous power struggles, work to divide people, in spite of how people naturally desire to make friends and live in peace (and enjoy music). While many Chinese people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like a Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) who after many years actually got replies from foreign pen pals, and while many American people who just joined Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like they finally got to China and met some really nice, friendly people after digging holes to China as kids, their respective governments are in God’s eyes like wild beasts competing for territory and influence, warily circling each other, and preparing for vicious, bloody battle. (Indeed, even in the world, the USA is often symbolically portrayed as an eagle, and China is often symbolically portrayed as a dragon.)

The proud human cultural tradition mandating the use of the abnormally difficult-to-learn-and-remember Chinese characters to write Mandarin also puts a Great Wall between Chinese people and Mandarin learners in other nations who would like to write text messages to each other, leave comments on social media posts, etc. Many turn to tools like Google Translate for help, but these are really just coping mechanisms, band-aid solutions, while the basic problem of the characters remains.

The Great Wall of China

Chinese characters continue to act as a Great Wall dividing people who naturally want to be friends.

Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) technically works as a simple, easy-to-learn full writing system for reading and writing Mandarin, so it is technically ideally suited for texting, commenting, etc. Unfortunately, though, the stubbornly embedded traditional cultural primacy of characters and the related cultural prejudice against Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) will dissuade most people from beneficially using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in these ways. (Question: As Mandarin field language learners who are trying to walk on the narrow road to life, and who are doing a life-saving work to help other people also get on this narrow road, should we always limit ourselves to being like most people?—Matthew 7:13, 14.)

(In my limited time so far on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), I have happened to come across a couple of comments containing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). One of these comments (from a user in the United States) renders the same message in English on one line, in simplified Chinese characters on another line, and then in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) on yet another line, Rosetta Stone-style. The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is even well-formatted, not just as with a pronunciation aid, but as with a full writing system, with tone marks, word separation, and punctuation.)

As shown above, audio and video technology also now enable people to just talk (and sing!) to communicate across distance and time. However, even in this regard, many Mandarin learners have allowed the visually intricate characters to stunt their Mandarin speech skills by distracting them from properly focusing on invisible sound, which is what Mandarin speech (and singing!) is actually made of. As discussed in other MEotW posts, this is effectively linguistic idolatry.

Spiritual Family in the Mandarin Field

As Mandarin field language learners, this whole situation with regular Chinese and American people enjoying meeting and making friends with each other on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) may remind us of all the wonderful new friends we made when we joined the Mandarin field. As Jehovah’s people serving in the Mandarin field, or in any congregation or group with people from different cultural backgrounds, we are not only aware of the possibility of making friends with people of other nations and cultures, we also know that every human being is really part of the one human family descended from the same ancestors and created by God. Additionally, we know that Jehovah has assigned us to help people from all the nations to join us in his spiritual paradise, in which they can become our spiritual brothers and sisters and live in peace with us forever on a paradise earth. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Let us, then, not let the world’s politics or human traditions prevent us from doing this life-saving, uniting, God-assigned work as well as we ought to.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Names Nations

chūshēng rìqī

chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date]) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Considering the time of year, and that jw.org is currently again featuring the article “When Was Jesus Born?”, this seems to be a good time to chóngwēn (chóng·wēn again · {warm up → [review]} → [review] 重温 重溫) (last week’s MEotW) this post that was first posted on December 12, 2022.]

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “When Was Jesus Born?”. Considering that it’s getting to be the middle of December, that’s not surprising—while we Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas, this relatively unusual stand means that we sometimes need to explain why we don’t celebrate this holiday that many in the world like so much. Knowing a bit about “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, this week’s MEotW that’s used in the Mandarin version of the above-mentioned article, will help us to do so to Mandarin-speaking Bible students, etc.

One thing we should note is that “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is subtly different from “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)”, a common expression that many Mandarin field language learners likely have heard of. Comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the above-mentioned article, “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” corresponds with “birth date” or “date of birth”, while the one occurrence of “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)” corresponds with “birthday”. The dictionaries I checked confirm this distinction.

Morphemes and Related Expressions

The morphemes in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” are relatively commonly used, but interesting.

Besides just meaning “out”, the “chū ({go/come/put… out}; out 出)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” can also mean “[a verb] out”, e.g., “go/come out”, “put out”, etc. For example, check out the literal meanings in these Mandarin expressions that contain this “chū ({go/come/put out}; out 出)” (Tap/click on the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression if the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” is not already visible.):

  • Chū‐Āijí‐Jì ((Chū {Going Out from} 出)‐(Āijí Egypt 埃及)‐(Jì Record 记 記) → [The Book of Exodus])
  • chūbǎn (chū·bǎn {put out} · {printing block [of] → [edition [of]]} → [publish] 出版)

The “shēng ({give birth to}/{was given birth to}; {give life to} | grow | exist; live | {[is] living}; {[is] alive} | {[is] unripe} | {[is] raw}; {[is] uncooked} | {[is] unfamiliar}; {[is] strange} | {[is] unprocessed}; {[is] crude} | existence; life; living | {be afflicted with}; get; have | very; keenly; much | pupil; student; scholar | [n suf used in names of occupations] 生)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is highly polysemous (having multiple meanings), as can be seen from its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard”. Some notable expressions that contain it are:

  • shēngmìng (life (both life in general and the life of an individual) 生命)
  • yǒngshēng (yǒng·shēng eternal; everlasting · life 永生)
  • xuésheng (xué·sheng learning · {growing (one) → [student]} → [student; pupil] 学生 學生)
  • fāshēng (fā·shēng {issue forth} · {come to life} → [happen] 发生 發生)
  • mòshēng (mò·shēng {(from) footpath between fields → [strange; unfamiliar; foreign]} · {unripe → [unfamiliar; strange]} → [strang; unfamiliar] 陌生)

Heavenly Bodies, Times, Radicals, and Japan

As for the “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, it literally means “sun”, but it is often used to mean “day”, since to us here on Earth it looks like the sun travels across the sky once a day. Similarly, “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)” literally means “moon”, but is often used to mean “month”, because we here on Earth see the moon go through all its phases in a month.

Speaking of “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)”, the character for it (月) is a radical that’s used in the character for the “qī ({period of time}; phase; stage [→ [issue (of a periodical); term (of a training class, etc.) | time]] | {scheduled time} 期 期/朞)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”. (Radicals are components of Chinese characters, that are a not very systematic system within the not very systematic system that is the characters. Thus, they can be justly thought of as a rabbit hole within a rabbit hole. Those who love characters often really love radicals, but otherwise, consider yourself warned!)

Changing the subject back to “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)”, this morpheme appears in the Mandarin name for Japan, “Rìběn (Rì·běn Sun’s · {Root → [Origin]} → [Japan] 日本)”. This name literally means “Sun’s Root” (or “Sun’s Origin”), since from the point of view of China, the sun rises where Japan is, to the east. In turn, the English expression “Land of the Rising Sun” comes from this meaning.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

The Bible does not give a specific date for the birth of Jesus Christ…

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) bìng (actually 并 並/竝/并) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · has 没有 沒有) jìzǎi (jì·zǎi recorded · {written down} 记载 記載) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) Jīdū (Christ’s 基督) jùtǐ (jù·tǐ having · body → [specific] 具体 具體) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth])…

English:

“The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known.”—Encyclopedia of Early Christianity.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 “Méiyǒu (Méi·yǒu (there) not · {is having} 没有 沒有) rén (person 人) quèzhī (què·zhī truly · knowing 确知 確知) Jīdū (Christ 基督) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth]).”—Zǎoqī Jīdū‐Jiào Bǎikē‐Quánshū ((Zǎo·qī Early · Period 早期) {(Jīdū Christ 基督)‐(Jiào Teaching → [Religion] 教) → [Christianity]} {(Bǎi·kē {Hundred → [Numerous]} · {Branches of Study} → [Encyclopedic] 百科)‐(Quán·shū Complete · Book 全书 全書) → [Encyclopedia]} → [Encyclopedia of Early Christianity]) (Yīngyǔ (Yīng·yǔ English · language 英语 英語)).

Categories
Culture Language Learning Names Technology Theocratic

Fēixíng Móshì

Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

Airplane Mode—the Video

This week’s MEotW, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, occurs in subtitle 51 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

For me personally, then, it’s really helpful when I put my phone in airplane mode so that I can really focus on what I’m reading and nothing can distract me.

Mandarin:

50
00:02:02,401 → 00:02:04,319
📖 📄 📘 suǒyǐ (suǒ·yǐ {that which} · {is the reason} → [so] 所以) wǒ (I 我) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) de (’s 的) shíhou ({(particular) times} 时候 時候)

51
00:02:04,319 → 00:02:06,947
📖 📄 📘 huì (will 会 會) xiān (first 先) bǎ (hold 把) shǒujī (shǒu·jī hand · machine → [mobile/cellular/portable phone] 手机 手機) tiáodào (tiáo·dào {to be adjusted} · {to arrive at → [to]} 调到 調到) Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]).

52
00:02:06,947 → 00:02:08,949
📖 📄 📘 Zhèyàng (Zhè·yàng this · {form → [way]} 这样 這樣) jiù ({(I) then} 就) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) bǎochí (bǎo·chí protect · hold → [keep] 保持) zhuānzhù ({being focused} 专注 專注),

53
00:02:08,949 → 00:02:11,035
📖 📄 📘 bú (not 不) shòu ({being subjected to} 受) dǎrǎo (dǎ·rǎo {striking of → [causing of]} · disturbing 打扰 打擾) de (-ly 地) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) le ([(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了).

As Apples Support’s web page explains, “You can use Airplane Mode to turn off the wireless features on your device while you’re flying in an airplane.”

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

“Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is indeed the official Mandarin translation of “Airplane Mode” that Apple uses on its China website (USA page, China page). And yes, Android also has an “airplane mode/Airplane mode”. (Its official documentation uses both capitalization styles.) Additionally, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is also the official Mandarin translation of “airplane mode/Airplane mode” in the Simplified Chinese version of Google’s official documentation.

“Airplane Mode” Components

In “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” means “flying”. “Fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” also appears in “fēijī (fēi·jī flying · machine → [aircraft; airplane] 飞机 飛機)”, which means “airplane”, but which, interestingly, is not used in the Mandarin expression corresponding to “Airplane Mode”. Instead, the expression that is used comes from combining “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” with “xíng (go; walk; travel [→ [do; perform; carry out; engage in; exercise | be current; prevail; circulate | behaviour; conduct; deeds | [is] alright; [is] acceptable | [is] capable; [is] competent | [is] temporary; [is] makeshift | soon]] 行)”, which in this context means “travelling”. The result is “fēixíng (fēi·xíng flying · going; walking; travelling → [flying | flight] 飞行 飛行)”, which effectively means “flying” or “flight”. So, the Mandarin expression for “Airplane Mode” on a more literal level actually means “Flying Mode”, or “Flight Mode”.

That brings us to “móshì (mó·shì model; pattern; standard · type; style; pattern; form; mode → [model; pattern; schema; mode] 模式)”, which in “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is used to effectively mean “mode”. The first morpheme in this expression, “mó (pattern; standard; model; example | imitate 模)”, can mean “model”. (In fact, “nánmó (nán·mó male · model 男模)” means “male model”.) The other morpheme, “shì (type; style; pattern; form; formula; mode 式)”, can mean “style” or “mode”.

Airplane Mode Culture

A number of bands have been named after Airplane Mode, including this one that’s steeped in Apple culture in other ways as well, such as most of its members having been involved in Apple ecosystem app development, and this one from Australia that uses the Australian spelling “Aeroplane Mode”. (Interestingly, Apple Support’s Australia page for Airplane Mode uses the spelling “Aeroplane Mode”, while its UK page and Canada page use the American spelling “Airplane Mode”.)

Yes, Airplane Mode, along with mobile devices in general, are now so much a part of modern everyday life and culture that the organization mentioned them in a video about Bible reading. (This occurrence of “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” in the Enjoy Life Forever! book material is not the first one in the organization’s published material either—the RTE entry for this expression refers to an occurrence of it in “tv.jw.org 2018-04 46:33-35”.) So, it would be good for us Mandarin field language learners to know how to talk in Mandarin about Airplane Mode and other things related to mobile devices too, even those of us who can still remember when the (emotionally vehement!) view of many was that only Bibles printed on paper were real Bibles!

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.