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Technology Theocratic

hùdòng‐shì

hùdòng+ (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì+ (type 式) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[This post was adapted from the February 21, 2022 post on “hùdòng+ (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動).]

[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 + Symbols 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 is featuring the free Bible course that we are offering. To do so, it is using the following text:

English:

Try our interactive Bible course Enjoy Life Forever!

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Lái (come 来 來) tǐyàn+ (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test → [personally experience] 体验 體驗) yíxià (yí·xià one · {going down → [time]} → [a bit] 一下) xīn (newly 新) tuīchū (tuī·chū {pushed → [recommended]} · out → [introduced] 推出) de (’s 的) hùdòng+ (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì+ (type 式) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course] 课程 課程) Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng ((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) → [Enjoy Life Forever!]).

Of course, besides being used above, this week’s MEotW “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” also appears in 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)]), the title of the Mandarin version of the book used in the above-mentioned course. Looking at this Mandarin title, you may have wondered: What does “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” mean?

“hùdòng shì” on _Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. title page (jw.org CHS+Pinyin)

(The above screenshot from jw.org shows light-coloured text on a dark background because I have set jw.org’s Appearance Settings to do so. As the related JW News article says, “some users prefer this setting because the screen is less bright. This may help reduce eyestrain, especially at night or in other low-light environments.” Most Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ web resources (short link: tiandi.info/pyp) can also be set to dark mode.)

You may surmise that “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” corresponds with the “Interactive” in Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course, and you would be right. Now, let’s take a closer look at the morphemes in “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” to see how they work in a way that makes “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” correspond as well as it does with the English word “interactive”, which means “acting upon or influencing each other”.

Morphemic Breakdown

As the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ information for “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” shows us, its first morpheme “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” means “mutually; [(with)] each other”. It’s the “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” in “hùxiāng ({each other} 互相) gǔlì (gǔ·lì {drum → [rouse]} · encourage → [encourage] 鼓励 鼓勵)”, which means “encourage one another”.

The next morpheme “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” basically means “move”. In some contexts, it means to move physically, as it does in “dòngwù (dòng·wù moving · thing → [animal] 动物 動物)”, which literally means “moving thing”, and is used to mean “animal”. (Interestingly, the English word “animal” is related to the word “animate”, which can mean “bring into action or movement”.) In other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” means to move emotionally, as it does in “gǎndòng+ (gǎn·dòng feeling · moved | {make to feel} · move 感动 感動)”. In yet other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” is used to effectively mean “change; alter”.

Breaking down “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式)” into its morphemes helps us to see that “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” corresponds with the “inter-” part of “interactive”, and that “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” corresponds with the “active” (“acting [up]on”) part. As for “shì (type; style; pattern; form; formula; mode 式)”, here it means “type” or “style”.

Interactive Indeed

The English word “interactive” has a particular meaning in the world of computing, which is “responds to user activity”.

Interestingly, the Enjoy Life Forever! book even has some interactivity in its paper form, with its “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections allowing room for a user to write in them with a pencil or pen. This is in addition to the limited interactivity that any paper publication offers a user, such as being able to write notes in the margins or to highlight or underline text.

The Enjoy Life Forever! book in the PDF file format—a computer file format that is conceptually rooted in the world of paper—adds the ability for a user to tap/click on links to do things like load the web pages (or the JW Library app) where the videos mentioned in the book can be played. As we move on to more computer-native formats, we find that in the Enjoy Life Forever! book material on the jw.org website and in the JW Library app, where of course links are available for playing the videos, a user can tap/click on text fields in the “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections and type text into them that will be “remembered”. Also, a user can tap/click on the checkboxes in the “Goal” section, and those checkboxes will “remember” and show whether they are checked or unchecked.

As discussed in the JW Broadcasting—January 2021 program, when it comes to the more general meaning of the English word “interactive”, “acting upon or influencing each other”, the Enjoy Life Forever! book in every format is designed to engage and involve people more than past Bible study textbooks did. It indeed qualifies as “interactive”, or as we say in Mandarin, “hùdòng+ (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì+ (type 式)”.

(By the way, just as is possible on this blog, in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ material for the Enjoy Life Forever! book, users can interactively tap/click on Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expressions to show/hide, as desired, flashcards showing English meanings, Simplified character(s), Traditional character(s) (if they’re different), etc. for these expressions.)


For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ 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)+ 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 / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ web resource as time allows.

Categories
Current Events Theocratic

kèchéng

kèchéng+ (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[This is an updated version of a post that was originally posted on September 5, 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

This month, September 2026, there is a worldwide campaign featuring the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure. Appropriately, as of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Guided Bible Study Course—Enjoy Life Forever!”. The Mandarin version of this article makes use of the expression “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, perhaps preceded by “Shèngjīng+ (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)”, to correspond with the English expressions “Bible study course”, “course”, and “Bible course”.

Interestingly, “[Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)] yánjiū (yán·jiū {grinding → [studying]} · {studying carefully} → [study] 研究)”, an expression that has long been used in the past to mean “[Bible] study”, does not appear at all in the above-mentioned article.

Related Expressions

The “kè+ (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)” may be familiar to those who have used the Mandarin versions of publications like the Good News brochure and the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure/book, since that is the Mandarin word used to correspond with the English word “lesson”. For example, “Lesson 10” is “Dì‐10 ((Dì [pref to form ordinal numerals] 第)‐(Shí Ten 10) → [10th]) Kè+ (Lesson 课 課)”.

Besides “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, another word that “kè (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” appears in is “kèběn+ (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”, which the above-mentioned article uses in reference to the Enjoy Life Forever! book that is now officially recommended for use on Bible studies. (Interestingly, the English version of the article does not use the word “textbook”, which is the main dictionary definition for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”. It does, though, refer to the Enjoy Life Forever! book as an “interactive Bible course”. So, “coursebook” may be a better match for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)” in this case.)

As for the second morpheme in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, it is also used, perhaps unexpectedly, in “gōngchéng+ (gōng·chéng work · {journey → [procedure]} → [engineering | [engineering/work] project] 工程)” and in “gōngchéng‐shī+ ((gōng·chéng work · {journeys → [procedures]} → [engineering] 工程)‐(shī master → [skilled person; expert; specialist] 师 師) → [engineer])”.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

In this free interactive Bible course, you will get answers to such questions as:

  • How can I find happiness in life?
  • Will evil and suffering ever end?
  • Will I ever see my dead loved ones again?
  • Does God really care about me?
  • How can I pray and be heard by God?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Nǐ (you 你) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) cóng (from 从 從) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) de (’s 的) hùdòng+ (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course] 课程 課程) dédào (dé·dào get · {arriving at} 得到) yǐxià (yǐ·xià at · below’s 以下) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · subjects → [questions] 问题 問題) de (’ 的) dá’àn (dá’·àn answering · {long, narrow tables or desks → [sets of information]} → [answers] 答案):

  • 📖 📄 ➕ Zěnyàng (Zěn·yàng (in) what · {form → [way]} → [how] 怎样 怎樣) cái ({only then} 才 才/纔) néng (can 能) guòshang (guò·shang {(I) pass} · {(to be) upon} 过上 過上) xìngfú+ (xìng·fú fortunate · {(having) blessings} → [happy] 幸福) de (’s 的) shēnghuó (shēng·huó life · living 生活)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Èshì (È·shì evil · things 恶事 惡事) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) tòngkǔ (tòng·kǔ {being in pain} · {being bitter → [suffering]} 痛苦) huì (will 会 會) yǒu (have 有) zhōngzhǐ+ (zhōng·zhǐ ending · stopping 终止 終止) de (’s 的) yì (one 一) tiān (sky → [day] 天) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Wǒ (I 我) huì (will 会 會) gēn (with 跟) qùshì+ (qù·shì {have gone from} · {generation → [world]} → [have passed away] 去世) de (’s 的) qīnyǒu (qīn·yǒu relatives · friends 亲友 親友) chóngjù+ (chóng·jù again · meet 重聚) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) guānxīn+ (guān·xīn {does close → [does concern]} · heart (with) → [does care about] 关心 關心) wǒ (me 我) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) huì (will 会 會) tīng (hear 听 聽/听) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) dǎogào+ (dǎo·gào prayers · {requestings | tellings} → [prayers] 祷告 禱告) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

English:

You will get the entire course free, including the study guide Enjoy Life Forever! and a Bible if you need one.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Zhěnggè (Zhěng·gè entire · [mw] 整个 整個) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course] 课程 課程) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) kèběn (kè·běn course · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [coursebook] 课本 課本) Yǒngyuǎn (Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) Xiǎngshòu (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) Měihǎo (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) de (’s 的) Shēngmìng (Life 生命) dōu (all → [both] 都) shì (are 是) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) de ({’s (things)} 的). Nǐ ((if) you 你) xūyào (require 需要) de (’s 的) huà (word 话 話), wǒmen (wǒ·men we · [pl] 我们 我們) yě (also 也) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) tígōng (tí·gōng {carry (hanging down from the hand) → [raise]} · provide 提供) yì (one 一) běn ({root or stem of a} → [mw for books, etc.] 本) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) gěi ({to be given to} 给 給) nǐ (you 你).


For convenience:

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

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

Categories
Culture Experiences Language Learning Science Theocratic

nándào

nándào+ (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols 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. This week’s MEotW, “nándào+ (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道)”, appears in subtitle 35 of the video used in point 5 of lesson 15 of this book:

English:

[Jesus’] mother, Mary, lived in Nazareth.
Could he tell her while in the womb,
‘Please take me to Bethlehem because the scriptures say
I must be born there’?

Mandarin (Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ 🔗):

34
00:02:05,141 → 00:02:08,812
📖 📄 ➕ Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) de (’ 的) mǔqin (mǔ·qin mother · relative 母亲 母親) Mǎlìyà (Mary 马利亚 馬利亞) yuánběn+ (yuán·běn originally · {root or stem → [originally]} 原本) zhù (lived 住) zài (in 在) Násālè+ (Nazʹa·reth 拿撒勒).

35
00:02:08,812 → 00:02:12,882
📖 📄 ➕ Nándào+ (Nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say → [to suppose] (that)} → [could it be that] 难道 難道) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) nénggòu (néng·gòu {was able} · enough 能够 能夠) zài (in 在) māma (mā·ma ma·ma 妈妈 媽媽) de (’s 的) dùzi+ (dù·zi belly · [suf for nouns] 肚子) li (inside 里 裡/裏) gēn (with 跟) māma (mā·ma ma·ma 妈妈 媽媽) shuō ({to say} 说 說/説),

Lesson 15 point 5 video subtitle 36

36
00:02:12,882 → 00:02:14,651
📖 📄 ➕ “Nǐ (you 你) yào (must 要) qù ({go to} 去) Bólìhéng (Bethʹle·hem 伯利恒 伯利恆) shēng+ ({to give birth to} 生) wǒ (me 我),

37
00:02:14,651 → 00:02:17,220
📖 📄 ➕ wǒ (I 我) cái ({only then} 才 才/纔) néng ({will be able} 能) yìngyàn+ (yìng·yàn {to respond to} · verifying (regarding) → [to fulfil] 应验 應驗) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · saying → [prophecy] 预言 預言)” ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

It’s Hard to Say?

Over the years, I would occasionally encounter “nándào (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道)” in my Mandarin field activities, and I would find it hard to say whether my initial impression was correct, that its morphemes literally translated to “is (it) difficult” “to arrive at (that)”. When I finally got around to looking up this expression and analyzing it, it turned out that I was right about the first morpheme, but wrong about the second one—the first morpheme “nán ({[is] difficult}; {[is] hard} | difficultly | {make difficult/difficulties} 难 難)” is indeed the one that means “difficult” or “hard”, and that also appears in “nántí (nán·tí difficult · topic → [problem] 难题 難題)”, but the second morpheme is actually not the “dào ({arrive [at/in/etc.]}; reaching [→ [[up/out/etc.] to; until]] 到)” that means “to arrive at”. Rather, it is the “dào (way; path; road [→ [mw]] | say; speak; talk; chat | think; suppose 道)” that is used in “chuándào (chuán·dào spreading · way → [preaching] 传道 傳道)” and in “dàoli (dào·li way; path; road · reasoning; logic; doctrine [→ [principle]] 道理)”, where it means “way; path; road”. When it’s used in “nándào (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道)” though, it seems to have a different meaning that I was not familiar with before, that of “say; speak”.

When the morphemes of “nándào (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道)” are put together, then, they literally mean “is (it) difficult” “to say [or, to suppose] (that)”, and they can effectively mean “can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that”. As Pleco’s built-in dictionary says, this enigmatic expression is used for “giving force to a rhetorical question”.

A Usage Example From the Bible

Here is another example of “nándào (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say [→ [to suppose]] (that)} → [can/could it be that; is it possible that; do you really mean to say that; don’t tell me that] 难道 難道)” in use, from a familiar Bible account:

English:

You are not greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well and who together with his sons and his cattle drank out of it, are you?”

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ 🔗):

📖 📄 ➕ Zhèi (this 这 這) kǒu ({mouth of a} → [mw for things with mouths/openings] 口) jǐng+ (well 井) shì (is 是) wǒmen de ((wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) zǔxiān (zǔ·xiān forefather · {earlier (person) → [ancestor]} → [forefather] 祖先) Yǎgè+ (Jacob 雅各) liúgěi (liú·gěi {left behind} · {to be given to} 留给 留給) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) de ({’s (well)} 的), tā (he 他) zìjǐ (himself 自己) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) érzi (ér·zi {(his) children → [his sons]} · [suf for nouns] 儿子 兒子), jiāchù+ (jiā·chù (his) household · livestock → [his cattle] 家畜) dōu (all 都) hē (drank 喝) zhèi (this 这 這) kǒu ({mouth of a} → [mw for things with mouths/openings] 口) jǐng (well 井) de (’s 的) shuǐ (water 水), nándào+ (nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say → [to suppose] (that)} → [can it be that] 难道 難道) nǐ (you 你) bǐ ({compared to} 比) tā (him 他) hái ({still more} 还 還) dà ({are big} → [are great] 大) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?”

A Question for the Mandarin Field

Here is a rhetorical question for Mandarin field language learners to consider:

English:

Is learning Chinese characters really the most important aspect of learning Mandarin?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Nándào+ (Nán·dào {is (it) difficult} · {to say → [to suppose] (that)} → [can it be that] 难道 難道) xué (learning 学 學) Hànzì+ (Hàn·zì {Han (Chinese)} · Characters 汉字 漢字) zhēnde (zhēn·de {being real} · {’s (thing)} → [really] 真的) shì (is 是) xué (learning 学 學) pǔtōng‐huà+ ((pǔ·tōng common · {through(out) → [common]} 普通)‐(huà speech 话 話) → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)]) de (’s 的) zuì (most 最 最/㝡) zhòngyào (zhòng·yào weighty · important 重要) de (’s 的) yì (one 一) fāngmiàn (fāng·miàn {direction → [side]} · face → [aspect] 方面) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

For an answer to this question that’s based, not on human tradition or cultural pride, but rather on the Bible, The Watchtower, and linguistics (language science), check out the article “SPEECH is Top Priority, Not Characters”.

Here is an excerpt:

Just like it’s an established fact that the earth is round, according to modern linguistics (the scientific study of language) this is also an established fact: “Speech is primary, writing is secondary and is always derivative of speech.” This scientific truth about language, that Jehovah built us and wired us to primarily communicate meaning through speech, supports what 1 Corinthians 14:8–11 (quoted above) says about understandable speech being of prime importance to Christian evangelizers.


For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ 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)+ 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 / Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ web resource as time allows.