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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) (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) xiān (first 先) (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
📖 📄 📘 (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]}) means “flying”. “Fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]}) 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]}) 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.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

xīndé

xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) ← 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.

This week’s MEotW, “xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得)”, occurs in subtitle 44 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

You can better relate to the brothers’ and sisters’ comments

because you’ve read the material yourself, and I can comment too.

Mandarin:

43
00:01:41,503 → 00:01:44,799
📖 📄 📘 Tíqián (Tí·qián {carried (hanging down from the hand) → [raised] → [shifted to an earlier time]} · ahead → [beforehand] 提前) yùxí (yù·xí {in advance} · {having reviewed} → [having prepared] 预习 預習), jiù ({(I) then} 就) néng (can 能) cóng (from) dàjiā (dà·jiā big · family → [everyone] 大家) fēnxiǎng (fēn·xiǎng {divides → [distributes]} · {enjoying of} → [shares] 分享) de ( 的) yàodiǎn (yào·diǎn important · points 要点 要點) huòyì (huò·yì {capture → [obtain]} · benefits 获益 獲益),

44
00:01:44,799 → 00:01:47,343
📖 📄 📘 (I 我) (also 也) néng (can 能) fābiǎo (fā·biǎo {issue → [utter]} · express 发表 發表) zìjǐ (self 自己) de (’s 的) xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {has obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) tǐhuì (tǐ·huì {bodily → [personally]} · {has come to understand(’s things)} 体会 體會).

Morphemic Breakdown and Interaction

The morphemes in “xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) are probably quite familiar to even beginning students of Mandarin—“xīn (heart 心) means “heart”, and “dé (get; obtain 得) literally means “get” or “obtain”. When we put these two simple and well known expressions together, though, they mean “heart got/obtained(’s things)”, and we end up with an effective meaning that’s greater than the sum of its parts: “(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.”

(By the way, note that the sister quoted in the video said that advance preparation helps her to be able to effectively share her xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {has obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得). As Mandarin field language learners, we may especially benefit from advance preparation so that we can more effectively use Mandarin to share with Mandarin-speaking people the things our hearts have learned. Yes, as boring and unglamorous as it may seem, our Mandarin abilities can be significantly enhanced by good old preparation and practice!)

Matters of the Heart

Going back to “xīn (heart 心)”, which means “heart”, it’s good to remember how important the heart is to our Mandarin field ministry. While the mind has much to do when one is learning Mandarin for the Mandarin field, and while some like to focus on how much knowledge of Chinese characters their minds have soaked up, the MEotW post on “xìnxīn (xìn·xīn believing · heart → [faith; confidence] 信心) points out the following about speaking to Mandarin-speaking people about spiritual things:

The Mandarin culture and language correctly recognize that the heart is deeply involved in spirituality. In fact, as mentioned in Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty), one of the expressions that the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible uses to translate the English word “spiritual” is “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈)”, which is a past MEotW. This expression literally means “heart spirit”.

So, let us not be quick, in our pride, to dismiss talk of the heart as sentimental nonsense. As expressed by the Mandarin expression “àixīn (ài·xīn loving · heart → [love] 爱心 愛心) (a past MEotW), we love with our hearts, and as God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, if we don’t have love, then any knowledge, skills, abilities, etc. that we have, and that we may be proud of, are meaningless.

Serving in the Mandarin field—or any language field, really—is not just a matter of sharing knowledge and applying language or other mental skills. As this week’s MEotW reminds us, it’s also about sharing our hearts and the things our hearts have learned. And as we age, even if our physical and mental abilities may not be what they used to be, we naturally come to have more and more experience and heart lessons to share. Let us Mandarin field language learners apply ourselves out of love, not to glorify ourselves or anything like that, but so that we can share with Mandarin-speaking people the valuable things that Jehovah has helped our hearts to learn, in a way that they can tell is from the heart.


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.

Categories
Culture Experiences History Science Theocratic

xuè

xuè (blood 血) ← 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.

Later, the web page touches on how some of the real-world benefits of good storytelling like that found in the Imitate book involve empathy:

    • 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.

The First Plague

This week’s MEotW, “xuè (blood 血)”, appears in Lesson 19 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book, which is entitled “Tóu (Head → [First]) Sān (Three 三) Chǎng ([mw for recreational, sports, or other activities]場/塲) Zāiyāng (Calamities → [Plagues] 灾殃 災殃) (“The First Three Plagues”):

English:

Aaron hit the Nile with his stick, and the river turned into blood.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Yàlún (Aaron 亚伦 亞倫) yòng (used 用) zhàng (stick 杖) jīdǎ ({to hit} 击打 擊打) Níluó (Nile 尼罗 尼羅) (River 河) de (’s 的) shuǐ (water 水), shuǐ (water 水) mǎshàng (mǎ·shàng horse · upon → [immediately] 马上 馬上) jiù (then 就) biànchéngle (biàn·chéng·le changed · {to turn into} · {to completion} 变成了 變成了) xuè (blood 血),

The Ten Plagues that Jehovah brought upon Egypt thus start off with a significant blow to the great Nile River that was vitally important to ancient Egypt. Also, Jehovah thus brought disgrace to Hapi, the god to whom the ancient Egyptians attributed the annual flooding of the Nile River, which provided fertile soil in a desert region.

Related Expressions

Here are some general expressions related to “xuè (blood 血) that would be good for us Mandarin field language learners to know:

  • xuèròu (xuè·ròu blood · flesh 血肉 血肉)
  • xuèròu (xuè·ròu blood · flesh 血肉 血肉)zhī (’s 之) ({human body})
  • shūxuè (shū·xuè {transporting of → [transfusing of]} · blood 输血 輸血)
  • xuèzhài (xuè·zhài blood · debt 血债 血債)

Here are some expressions related to blood fractions, as used in Lesson 39 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book (Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus):

  • xuèjiāng (xuè·jiāng blood · {thick liquid → [plasma]} 血浆 血漿)
  • bái (white 白) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · wombs → [cells] 细胞 細胞)
  • xuè (blood 血) xiǎobǎn (xiǎo·bǎn small · plates → [platelets] 小板 小板/闆)
  • hóng (red) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · wombs → [cells] 细胞 細胞)
  • xuèyè (xuè·yè blood · fluid 血液) tíqǔ wù ((tí·qǔ {carried (hanging down from the hand) → [extracted]} · taken → [extracted] 提取) (wù matter → [substances] 物) [fractions])

    • Note that before, e.g., as used in one of the appendices of the Mandarin “God’s Love” book, the expression for “blood fractions” was “xuèyè (xuè·yè blood · fluid 血液) de (’s 的) wēiliàng chéngfèn ((wēi·liàng tiny · amount 微量) (chéng·fèn completion · components 成分/份) [fractions])”.

Alternate Pronunciations

An interesting thing to keep in mind about “xuè (blood 血) is that this “official” pronunciation is often not the one that is used by native Mandarin speakers. Rather, this expression is often pronounced colloquially in one of the following ways:

  • xiě (blood (colloquial pronunciation) 血)
  • xuě (blood (colloquial pronunciation) 血)

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:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links 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.