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Current Events History Theocratic

jūn

jūn ({armed forces}; army; troops [→ [military]]) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “World Military Spending Surpasses $2 Trillion—What Does the Bible Say?”. Interestingly, the Mandarin version of this article uses a few different expressions to translate the sense of “military spending”:

  • jūnshì (jūn·shì {armed forces → [military]} · affairs 军事 軍事) zhīchū (zhī·chū supporting · out → [spending] 支出)
  • jūnfèi (jūn·fèi {armed forces → [military]} · {expending → [expenditures]} 军费 軍費) kāizhī (kāi·zhī {opening → [paying]} · supporting → [spending] 开支 開支)
  • jūnshì (jūn·shì {armed forces → [military]} · affairs 军事 軍事) kāizhī (kāi·zhī {opening → [paying]} · supporting → [spending] 开支 開支)
  • jūnshì (jūn·shì {armed forces → [military]} · affairs 军事 軍事) huāfèi (huā·fèi {flowering of → [spending of]} · {expendings → [expenditures]} → [spending] 花费 花費)
  • jūnfèi (jūn·fèi {armed forces → [military]} · {expending → [expenditures]} 军费 軍費) zhīchū (zhī·chū supporting · out → [spending] 支出)

These all have in common the morpheme “jūn ({armed forces}; army; troops [→ [military]]), which is this week’s MEotW.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of how the above expressions are used in the above-mentioned article:

English:

World military spending reached a record high of 2.24 trillion dollars (U.S.) in 2022, largely in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 2022 nián (year年/秊) quánqiú (quán·qiú whole · globe → [worldwide] 全球) jūnfèi (jūn·fèi {armed forces → [military]} · {expending → [expenditures]} 军费 軍費) kāizhī (kāi·zhī {opening → [paying]} · supporting → [spending] 开支 開支) (already 已) chuàng ({achieved (for the first time)}創/刱/剏/剙) 2.24 wàn ({ten thousand}萬/万) ({hundred million} 亿 ) (2.24 zhào ({trillion (traditional/Taiwan)} 兆)) Měiyuán (Měi·yuán American · {yuan’s (monetary unit of China) → [dollars’]} 美国 美國) xīn (new 新) gāo (high 高); zuì (most最/㝡) zhíjiē (zhí·jiē {being straight} · connecting → [direct] 直接) de (’s 的) yuányīn (yuán·yīn origin · reason 原因) shì (was 是) Éluósī (Russia 俄罗斯 俄羅斯) rùqīn (rù·qīn entering · invading → [invading] 入侵) Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭).

English:

“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world”

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘Jìnnián (Jìn·nián {close → [recent]} · years 近年) lái ({coming from} → [since] (them)), quánqiú (quán·qiú whole · globe → [worldwide] 全球) jūnshì (jūn·shì {armed forces → [military]} · affairs 军事 軍事) kāizhī (kāi·zhī {opening → [paying]} · supporting → [spending] 开支 開支) chíxù (chí·xù {has held} · {has continued} 持续 持續) zēngzhǎng (zēng·zhǎng increasing · growing 增长 增長), biǎomíng (biǎo·míng showing · {to be clear} 表明) wǒmen (wǒ·men we · [pl] 我们 我們) shēnghuó ({are living} 生活) zài (in 在) (one 一) ge ([mw]個/个) yuè‐lái‐yuè ((yuè {jumping over} 越) (lái coming) (yuè {jumping over} 越)) [more and more]) (not 不) ānquán (ān·quán safe · whole → [secure] 安全) de (’s 的) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) zhōng (within 中).”

Jehovah of Armies

In the Bible, Jehovah God is sometimes called “tiānjūn (tiān·jūn heaven’s · armies 天军 天軍) de ( 的) Tǒngshuài (Tǒng·shuài {Gathered Together (Things) → [Whole System]} · Commander-in-Chief 统帅 統帥) Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) (“Jehovah of armies”), which incorporates the “jūn ({armed forces}; army; troops [→ [military]]) used in the expressions listed above. For example, when he faced Goliath, David used this expression to show that he trusted in Jehovah God, not in human weapons.—1 Samuel 17:45 (English, Mandarin).

“tiānjūn de Tǒngshuài Yēhéhuá” in 1 Samuel 17:45 (NWT (nwtsty), WOL CHS+Pinyin)

Jehovah causes himself to become what he needs to be, and when he needs to lead his armies of angels into battle, he is invincible. In fact, the Bible records that one time, just one of Jehovah’s angels wiped out 185,000 enemy soldiers in one night. (2 Kings 19:35) When the time comes for “the war of the great day of God the Almighty”, all the prodigious military spending of all the human nations will not prevent them from being destroyed to clear the way for God’s Kingdom to make the earth into a peaceful paradise.—Revelation 16:14.

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Culture Current Events Theocratic

jiēlián

jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) to express how cases of gun violence just seem to keep on occurring.

The First Morpheme About Connecting Connects to…

The “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接) in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) seems to have possible basic meanings of “come into contact with”, or “come close to”, and it seems that from these can be derived meanings such as “connecting; joining; continuing”, that seem to apply in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連).

This “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接) also appears in many other Mandarin expressions, such as:

  • jiēchù (jiē·chù {come into contact with} · touch; contact [→ [get in touch with; engage with]] 接触 接觸)
  • jiē ({come into contact with} → [answer] 接) diànhuà (diàn·huà electric · {spoken words} → [phone] 电话 電話)
  • jiējìn (jiē·jìn {come close to} · {to be near/close | approach} 接近)
  • jiēshòu (jiē·shòu {come into contact with → [receive]} · receive; accept → [receive; accept] 接受)
  • jiē ({coming into contact with} → [taking hold of] (the baton next) 接) xialai (xia·lai down · {to come} 下来 下來)
  • jiēzhe (jiē·zhe {coming into contact with → [taking hold of] (the baton next)} · being → [next; after that] 接着 接着/著)

    • While conducting meetings, brothers might use this expression or the previous one in relation to the part on the programme that’s coming up next.

…the Next Morpheme About Connecting

The “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]]) in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) also relates to connecting, with possible basic meanings of “linking to”; “joining”; “connecting to”. One interesting use of this morpheme is that “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} → [even])…” can mean “even…”.

Some other Mandarin expressions that contain “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]]) are:

  • liánjiē (lián·jiē {linking [to]; joining; connecting [to]} · {coming into contact [with] [→ [connecting; joining; linking [to] | connection; conjunction | link (on a web page) | continuously]]} 连接 連/聯接)

    • Note that this expression uses the same morphemes as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連), but in reverse order. It does not seem to have the exact same meanings as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連), however.
    • Perhaps of interest to readers of this web page, this expression can be used to refer to a link on a web page.
  • liánxiě (lián·xiě linking; joining; connecting · write → [join syllables in Pīnyīn, etc. (so they are not separated by a space) | write Chinese characters with linked strokes] 连写 連寫)

    • This is the actual expression used in the official Chinese government rules for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, to refer to writing syllables together without a space between them. This expression is used because in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), sometimes there is no space between syllables, and sometimes spaces are used.
      • Unlike Chinese characters, which are written like bricks in the Great Wall with no spaces at all between them, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) uses spaces to divide groupings of syllables into separate words, like English, French, Spanish, etc. do. This is yet another thing that makes Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) much easier to learn and use, compared to characters.
  • liánxù (lián·xù linking; joining; connecting · continuing; {being continuous/successive}; extending; joining [→ [continuous; successive; in a row; running; serial; consecutive]] 连续 連續)

    • liánxù jù ((lián·xù linking · continuing → [serial] 连续 連續) (jù drama) [TV series; serialized drama])
  • yìlián (yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)

    • yìlián‐chuàn ((yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)‐(chuàn {stringing together of} 串) [series/string/chain/succession of])

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Qiāngjī (Qiāng·jī Gun · Striking → [Shooting] 枪击 槍擊) Àn ({Long, Narrow Tables or Desks} → [Cases] 案) Jiēlián (Jiē·lián {Are Coming into Contact → [Are Continuing]} · {Are Linking} → [Are in Succession] 接连 接連)Búduàn (Bú·duàn Not · {Breaking off} → [Continually] 不断 不斷)

English:

Terrible gun violence continues to take a tragic toll on many around the world.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shìjiè (Shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact → [continuing]} · {linking → [one after another]} 接连 接連) fāshēng (fā·shēng {are having issue forth} · {are having come to life} → [are having happen] 发生 發生) chíqiāng (chí·qiāng holding · gun 持枪 持槍) bàolì (bào·lì violent · force → [violence] 暴力) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn incidents · [mw] 事件), niàngchéng (niàng·chéng {brewing to → [leading to]} · {coming to be} → [leading to] 酿成 釀成) shāngwáng (shāng·wáng injuries · {dyings → [deaths]} 伤亡 傷亡) cǎnjù (cǎn·jù tragic · {theatrical works (dramas, etc.)} → [tragedies] 惨剧 慘劇).

All Connected?

Speaking of connected things, are all these cases of gun violence somehow connected? Well, the Bible does reveal to us that this whole system of things is under the influence of Satan the Devil, the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 1 John 5:19). Those who perpetrate gun violence certainly reflect the spirit of the ruler of this world that they are part of.

Also, the Bible shows us that this world ruled by Satan is now in its last days, and so, things are especially bad now. As the above-mentioned article says:

The Bible describes our time as “the last days,” a time when people would act in fierce, brutal, and savage ways. (2 Timothy 3:1, 3)

Thankfully, since these are “the last days” of this wicked system of things, we can look forward to the time when Jehovah God replaces it with a new system under the rulership of his own Kingdom government.—Matthew 6:10.

Categories
Current Events History

bìnàn suǒ

bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding; evading → [preventing; keeping away from; fleeing; escaping; hiding from]} · calamity; disaster; adversity; misfortune; trouble; distress → [taking refuge; seeking asylum] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge; asylum; sanctuary; haven; shelter]) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring a breaking news item regarding the recent shooting at a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany. The Mandarin version of this makes use of this week’s MEotW, “bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding; evading → [preventing; keeping away from; fleeing; escaping; hiding from]} · calamity; disaster; adversity; misfortune; trouble; distress → [taking refuge; seeking asylum] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge; asylum; sanctuary; haven; shelter]), which means “refuge”.

Related Expressions

Some other Mandarin expressions that use the morphemes in “bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding; evading → [preventing; keeping away from; fleeing; escaping; hiding from]} · calamity; disaster; adversity; misfortune; trouble; distress → [taking refuge; seeking asylum] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge; asylum; sanctuary; haven; shelter]) (or related ones) are:

  • bìmiǎn (bì·miǎn {avoid; evade [→ [prevent; keep away from; flee; escape; hide from]]} · avoid; {refrain from} 避免)
  • kǔnàn (kǔ·nàn {being bitter → [hardship; suffering; pain]} · calamities; adversity; trouble; distress 苦难 苦難)
  • nán ({[is] difficult}; {[is] hard} | difficultly | {make difficult/difficulties})
  • nántí (nán·tí difficult · topic → [problem] 难题 難題)
  • bìhù suǒ ((bì·hù sheltering; protecting; shielding · protecting; guarding; shielding 庇护 庇護) (suǒ place 所) [sanctuary; asylum; haven; refuge])
  • Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) Jùhuì Suǒ ((Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) (Suǒ Place 所) [Hall])

Usage in a Scripture

The above-mentioned news item cites Psalm 9:9 (Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) WOL; Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus), which uses “bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding; evading → [preventing; keeping away from; fleeing; escaping; hiding from]} · calamity; disaster; adversity; misfortune; trouble; distress → [taking refuge; seeking asylum] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge; asylum; sanctuary; haven; shelter]):

📖 📄 📘 Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) huì (will) bìhù (bì·hù shelter · protect 庇护 庇護) bèi ([passive signifier] → [being] 被) yāpò (yā·pò pressed · coerced → [oppressed] 压迫 壓迫) de (’s 的) rén (persons 人), zuò (become 做) tāmen de ((tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) (de ’s 的) [their]) bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding → [keeping away from]} · distress → [taking refuge] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge]);
Tāmen (Tā·men he/she · [pl] → [they] 他们 他們) zāoshòu (zāo·shòu encounter · {receive → [suffer]} 遭受) kǔnàn (kǔ·nàn {being bitter → [hardship]} · distress 苦难 苦難) shí ({(particular) times}),
Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) jiùshì (jiù·shì exactly · {will be} 就是) tāmen de ((tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) (de ’s 的) [their]) bìnàn suǒ ((bì·nàn {avoiding → [keeping away from]} · distress → [taking refuge] 避难 避難) (suǒ place 所) [refuge]).

Remember Job

As students of the Bible, we have come to understand that, just as it was in Job’s time, now, the last days of this old system of things, is not a time when Jehovah is physically protecting his people from all bad things. However, we can still turn to him for mental, emotional, and spiritual refuge, as Job could. Also, we know that, as in Job’s case, even the physical effects of the bad things that happen now will eventually be undone by Jehovah, when the time is right.—Job 1:7–22; 42:12–17; Revelation 20:12, 13.