Yēsū
(Jesus’
耶稣
耶穌) Xīshēng
(Xī·shēng
{Sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) Domestic Animal} →[Sacrifice]
牺牲
犧牲) Jìniàn Jùhuì
((Jì·niàn
Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating]
记/纪念
記/紀念)
(Jùhuì
Meeting
聚会
聚會)
→[Memorial]) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”
[As of this writing, jw.org is featuring the upcoming Memorial. So, this is basically a reposting of a post from a few years back about the current official Mandarin translation of “the Memorial of Jesus’ death”.]
This year’s Memorial is coming up soon, so this week’s MEotW is “Yēsū
(Jesus’
耶稣
耶穌)Xīshēng
(Xī·shēng
{Sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) Domestic Animal} →[Sacrifice]
牺牲
犧牲)Jìniàn Jùhuì
((Jì·niàn
Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating]
记/纪念
記/紀念)
(Jùhuì
Meeting
聚会
聚會)
→[Memorial])”. This is currently the official way to translate “the Memorial of Jesus’ death” into Mandarin, as can be seen by comparing the English and Mandarin pages for the Memorial on jw.org.
It’s worth noting that this is a simple, straightforward, functional translation, free of unnecessary sentimentality or ceremony. As one dictionary puts it, “ceremony”, in this case, refers to:
The formalities observed on some solemn or important public or state occasion in order to render it more imposing or impressive: as, the ceremony of crowning a king, or of laying a foundation-stone; the ceremony of inaugurating the President of the United States.
Indeed, for those of us who appreciate Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, the Memorial is about this appreciation, not about ceremony or empty or showy rituals.
What Price Ceremony?
The matter of unnecessary ceremony reminds me of something I heard in a podcast a while ago:
Ben Cohen, manager of the Swift team at Apple, speaks of their core design goal of making the Swift programming language ceremony-free.
Here is a clip of the podcast referred to in the X post above, in which Mr. Cohen speaks of the core goal to make Swift ceremony-free:
As the above X post also mentions, Chinese characters have oodles and gobs of unnecessary, time-and-energy-consuming ceremony, especially compared to the simple, straightforward, and elegant Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) writing system. And, echoing Mr. Cohen’s observation that ceremony can weigh programmers down and rob them of the joy that they could otherwise feel when coding, many have found that the unnecessary, traditionally mandated complexity and ceremonial baggage of Chinese characters can weigh down Mandarin learners and take away much of the joy that they should be able to feel from learning how to really communicate with Mandarin-speaking people.
Is it appropriate for us to look at the Chinese characters writing system through the same lens that we use to look at a technological system like the Swift programming language? It really is, because while the Chinese characters writing system is indeed a matter of culture, all writing systems are simultaneously technologies, applications of skills and knowledge for practical purposes.
Zhōngdōng
(Zhōng·dōng
Middle · East
中东
中東) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”
[In view of the renewed fighting in the Middle East, and since the below-mentioned article is again being featured on jw.org, it seems appropriate to revisit this post that was originally posted on July 1, 2025. By the way, the Mandarin expression for “Iran” is “Yīlǎng
(Iran
伊朗)”.]
[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 “War in the Middle East—What Does the Bible Say?”. Where the English version of this article uses the expression “Middle East”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “Zhōngdōng
(Zhōng·dōng
Middle · East
中东
中東)”. For example, here are the English and Mandarin versions of the article’s title:
The “Zhōng
({within/among/[in] the midst of (it/them…)} | centre; middle | midst | amid | medium; intermediate
中)” in “Zhōngdōng
(Zhōng·dōng
Middle · East
中东
中東)” corresponds to “Middle”, and it also occurs in expressions such as past MEotW’s “Zhōngguó
(Zhōng·guó
Central · Nation →[China | Chinese]
中国
中國)”🔗, “Zhōngwén
(Zhōng·wén
{Central → [Chinese]} · Writing
中文)”🔗, and “Zhōngyāng Zhǎnglǎo‐Tuán
((Zhōngyāng
Central
中央)
(Zhǎng·lǎo
{Grown → [Elder]} · Old (Men) → [Elders]
长老
長老)‐(Tuán
{Rolled into a Ball (Thing)} → [Group] → [Body]
团
團/糰)
→[Governing Body])”🔗. (Note that in these past MEotW’s, “Zhōng
({within/among/[in] the midst of (it/them…)} | centre; middle | midst | amid | medium; intermediate
中)” is really used to mean “Central”, which is a bit different from “Middle”.)
The “dōng
(east
东
東)” in “Zhōngdōng
(Zhōng·dōng
Middle · East
中东
中東)” corresponds to “East”. For reference, here are the Mandarin expressions for the cardinal directions and the ordinal or intercardinal directions:
Note how the Mandarin expressions for the ordinal or intercardinal directions use reverse word order compared to their English counterparts. For example, “xīběi
(xī·běi
{west | western} · {north | northern} →[north-west | north-western]
西北)” literally means “west · north”, in contrast to the English word “north-west”. This may remind one of how the Mandarin word for “compass”, past MEotW“zhǐnán‐zhēn
((zhǐ·nán
{(points with) finger → [points]} · south
指南)‐(zhēn
needle
针
針)
→[compass])”, on a certain level of literalness means “points south needle”, in contrast to the Western view that a compass needle points north. Both are right—when one end of a symmetrical compass needle is pointing south, the other end is simultaneously pointing north—they’re just different ways of thinking about the same thing.
A Longer Usage Example
To provide a longer, more extensive example of how “Zhōngdōng
(Zhōng·dōng
Middle · East
中东
中東)” and some related expressions can be used in the ministry, here is some Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) Plus material based on the introductory paragraphs of the above-mentioned article:
English:
The world is anxiously watching the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Will the situation escalate into a wider war? Can governments avert disaster and achieve lasting peace?
Those familiar with Bible prophecy may wonder whether this Middle East conflict could be the start of the battle of Armageddon mentioned in the book of Revelation.
What does the Bible say?
Mandarin:
📖📄📘Měiguó
(Měi·guó
American · Nation →[USA]
美国
美國),
Yǐsèliè
(Israel
以色列),
hé
({(together) with} →[and]
和
和/龢)Yīlǎng
(Iran
伊朗)zhījiān
(zhī·jiān
them · among
之间
之間)de
(’s
的)chōngtū
(chōng·tū
{dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} →[conflict]
冲突
衝突),
nòngde
(nòng·de
{has played with → [has made]} · getting
弄得)shìjiè
(shì·jiè
{generation → [world]} · extent’s →[world’s]
世界)gèdì
(gè·dì
various · lands
各地)rénxīn
(rén·xīn
people’s · hearts → [public feeling]
人心)‐huánghuáng
(huáng·huáng
{to be fearful → [to be anxious]} · {to be fearful → [to be anxious]}
惶惶).
Zhèige
(Zhèi·ge
this · [mw]
这个
這個)chōngtū
(chōng·tū
{dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} →[conflict]
冲突
衝突)huì
(will
会
會)yǎnbiàn
(yǎn·biàn
perform · changing →[develop]
演变
演變)chéng
({to become}
成)dà
(large
大)‐guīmó
(guī·mó
{compasses → [rules]} · model →[scale]
规模
規模)de
(’s
的)zhànzhēng
(zhàn·zhēng
war · contending →[war]
战争
戰爭)ma([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions]
吗
嗎)?
Zhèngfǔ
(Zhèng·fǔ
political · {seats of government} →[governments]
政府)yǒu
({do have}
有)nénglì
(néng·lì
ability · power
能力)píngxī
(píng·xī
{to make to be flat, level, even → [to make to be calm]} · {to stop} →[to calm/quiet down]
平息)chōngtū
(chōng·tū
{dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} →[conflict]
冲突
衝突),
dàilái
(dài·lái
{to bring} · {to come}
带来
帶來)chángjiǔ
(cháng·jiǔ
long · {for a long time}
长久
長久)de
(’s
的)hépíng
(hé·píng
{being (together) with (one another)} · {being flat, level, even} →[peace (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict)]
和平)ma([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions]
吗
嗎)?
Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合) 👈🏼 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.]
A few years back, I wrote up a brief web page listing reasons for producing Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音), etc. material for the Imitate (ia) book. Some, especially some who grew up in the West, may have felt that this book is made up of “just stories”, and ones that they were already quite familiar with, at that. However, we must remember that Chinese Bible students may often have a different perspective regarding the Bible accounts that are made to come to life in the Imitate book. As that web page said:
Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.
The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.
While even fictional stories can have the benefits described in the links and the quote above, true stories from the Bible can have even greater benefits, including spiritual ones.
Besides the Imitate book, another book from Jehovah’s organization that relates Bible accounts is the Learn From the Bible (lfb) book. The letter from the Governing Body in this book says that, similarly to the Imitate book, the Learn From the Bible book also “brings the Bible accounts to life and captures the feelings of those depicted”, while, unlike the Imitate book, it “tells the story of the human family from creation onward”. While the Learn From the Bible book is especially suitable for children, the letter from the Governing Body in this book says that “it can also be used to help adults who desire to learn more about the Bible”. So, it would be good to consider on this blog some of the expressions used in the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book.
Same Characters, Different Pronunciations
This week’s MEotW, “Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)”, appears in the title of Lesson 30 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
📖📄📘Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)Ràng
(Made
让
讓)Tànzi
(Tàn·zi
{(Ones) Trying to Find Sth. Out → [Spies]} · [suf for nouns]
探子)Cáng
({to Be Hidden}
藏)Qilai
(Qi·lai
Up · {to Come}
起来
起來)
The Mandarin Learn From the Bible book here uses “Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)” to correspond with “Rahab” in English. The current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (Study Edition) also uses “Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)” this way. For example, here is how it renders Joshua 2:1, which mentions Rahab:
Joshua 2:1 in the Mandarin NWT Study Bible, in the JW Library app
Note, though, that the Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) for this used to be “Lāhé
(Raʹhab (old pronunciation)
喇合)”,with the same characters, as can be seen in this screenshot of Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) NWT Bible:
Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音)NWT Bible
Why was this pronunciation changed, even though the same characters are used? Perhaps this was done to align with the common pronunciation of this name. For example, in CC-CEDICT, a public-domain Chinese-English dictionary, the entry for this expression says that the Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) for it is “Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)”, and that the definition is “(Protestantism) Rahab, mother of Boaz”. In turn, perhaps there is some connection with the ABC Dictionary’s definition of “lǎ
({prostitute (slang)} | horn; bugle; trumpet; loudspeaker | lama
喇)” as “(slang) prostitute”, which, as many know, is what Rahab worked as before she joined Jehovah’s people.
Context Is King, Not Characters
Anyway, what we have here are homographs, different expressions that are written the same way. In fact, my dictionaries say that the character “喇” that’s used in “Lǎhé
(Raʹhab
喇合)” can represent different expressions which can be pronounced “lā”, “lá”, “lǎ”, or “la”. If one encounters the character “喇” then, which of its multiple possible pronunciations is the right one? And, which of its multiple possible meanings is the right one? It depends on the context, which is the same as the situation with homophones written inPīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音). (Actually, in a way, a character like “喇” is more ambiguous than a Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) expression like “lǎ
({prostitute (slang)} | horn; bugle; trumpet; loudspeaker | lama
喇)”, because at least the Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) expression literally spells out its pronunciation, whereas with a character like “喇”, both its meaning and its pronunciation are ambiguous, even if one knows and can remember the character.)
So, while advocates of characters often make a fuss about the homophones in Mandarin that Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) would write the same way, the corresponding problem of homographs plagues the characters!
For convenience:
The direct link for the Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音) Plus resource for the Learn From the Bible 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 Learn From the Bible book will be made available in the Pīnyīn
(Pīn·yīn
{Piecing Together of} · Sounds →[Pinyin]
拼音)Plus web resource as time allows.
